Soundprint Science:P2P1Pole to Pole:
SOUNDPRINT traveled inside the Arctic and Antarctic circles as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration, Pole to Pole.

HOUR 1 : The Hidden Clues of Climate Change
Time Capsule in Siberia
A frozen lake in the Arctic Circle is telling us how sensitive the poles are to climate change. Moira Rankin takes us to Lake El'gygytgyn and reports on the 3.6 million year record of climate change that scientists have unearthed from the lake's bottom.

When the Snow Melts on Svalbard
The Polar Regions may be the "canary in the coal mine" for climate change. Visit the northernmost scientific outpost in the world, with Irene Quaile of Radio Deutsche-Welle, and hear what they're discovering about the polar climate.

September 7

Soundprint Science:P2P1Pole to Pole:
SOUNDPRINT traveled inside the Arctic and Antarctic circles as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration, Pole to Pole.

HOUR 1 : The Hidden Clues of Climate Change
Time Capsule in Siberia
A frozen lake in the Arctic Circle is telling us how sensitive the poles are to climate change. Moira Rankin takes us to Lake El'gygytgyn and reports on the 3.6 million year record of climate change that scientists have unearthed from the lake's bottom.

When the Snow Melts on Svalbard
The Polar Regions may be the "canary in the coal mine" for climate change. Visit the northernmost scientific outpost in the world, with Irene Quaile of Radio Deutsche-Welle, and hear what they're discovering about the polar climate.

August 2012

August 31

Soundprint Science:P2P1Pole to Pole:
SOUNDPRINT traveled inside the Arctic and Antarctic circles as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration, Pole to Pole.

HOUR 1 : The Hidden Clues of Climate Change
Time Capsule in Siberia
A frozen lake in the Arctic Circle is telling us how sensitive the poles are to climate change. Moira Rankin takes us to Lake El'gygytgyn and reports on the 3.6 million year record of climate change that scientists have unearthed from the lake's bottom.

When the Snow Melts on Svalbard
The Polar Regions may be the "canary in the coal mine" for climate change. Visit the northernmost scientific outpost in the world, with Irene Quaile of Radio Deutsche-Welle, and hear what they're discovering about the polar climate.

August 24

Soundprint Science:P2P1Pole to Pole:
SOUNDPRINT traveled inside the Arctic and Antarctic circles as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration, Pole to Pole.

HOUR 1 : The Hidden Clues of Climate Change
Time Capsule in Siberia
A frozen lake in the Arctic Circle is telling us how sensitive the poles are to climate change. Moira Rankin takes us to Lake El'gygytgyn and reports on the 3.6 million year record of climate change that scientists have unearthed from the lake's bottom.

When the Snow Melts on Svalbard
The Polar Regions may be the "canary in the coal mine" for climate change. Visit the northernmost scientific outpost in the world, with Irene Quaile of Radio Deutsche-Welle, and hear what they're discovering about the polar climate.

August 17

Soundprint Science:P2P1Pole to Pole:
SOUNDPRINT traveled inside the Arctic and Antarctic circles as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration, Pole to Pole.

HOUR 1 : The Hidden Clues of Climate Change
Time Capsule in Siberia
A frozen lake in the Arctic Circle is telling us how sensitive the poles are to climate change. Moira Rankin takes us to Lake El'gygytgyn and reports on the 3.6 million year record of climate change that scientists have unearthed from the lake's bottom.

When the Snow Melts on Svalbard
The Polar Regions may be the "canary in the coal mine" for climate change. Visit the northernmost scientific outpost in the world, with Irene Quaile of Radio Deutsche-Welle, and hear what they're discovering about the polar climate.

August 10

Soundprint Science:WoV1WORLD OF VIRUSES
Feared by many, and little understood, the world of viruses permeates our lives. Join us as we explore what science is now telling us about viruses from: hospitals in Minnesota to clinics in South Africa; research labs in Nebraska to mosquito haunts in Peru and state fairs in Maryland.

Hour 1: Garden Variety VirusesMeasles:What's at Stake produced by Barbara Bogaev
Measles, once a rite of passage for hundreds of thousands of American children every year, has largely been eliminated in this country. Producer Barbara Bogaev explores why minor outbreaks are becoming more common, and why even small outbreaks have public health officials worried.

Mosquitoes in Iquitos produced by Dan Charles
The Front Line in the battle against mosquito-borne viruses is a bustling Peruvian metropolis on the Amazon River.

August 3

Soundprint Science:WoV2WORLD OF VIRUSES
Feared by many, and little understood, the world of viruses permeates our lives. Join us as we explore what science is now telling us about viruses from: hospitals in Minnesota to clinics in South Africa; research labs in Nebraska to mosquito haunts in Peru and state fairs in Maryland.

HOUR 2 World of Viruses: The Elusive Viruses
HPV - the Shy Virus produced by Jean Snedegar
A hidden killer lurks in the shadows -- also in your car, on your keyboard, and even on your kitchen table -- but it attacks very few people. Producer Jean Snedegar tracks the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) - a puzzling, paradoxical virus.

Life at McMurdoThe science station called McMurdo has been operating on the southern tip of the continent since 1956. It’s an important research center, attracting geologists, physicists, engineers, hydrologists, pilots, and just plain adventure-seekers. McMurdo Station has grown so much, in fact, that it’s really a town unto itself. It’s got a harbor, three airfields, a heliport, over a hundred buildings, and a bowling alley. After all, if people are going to work in such a bleak outpost, they need some recreation!
About a thousand people work at McMurdo in the summer -- 200 in the dead of winter -- and the scientists depend on the non-scientists to keep the place humming.
SOUNDPRINT went to McMurdo as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration Pole to Pole to cover a scientific project. While we were there, we met the diverse and colorful group of people who constitute LIFE AT MCMURDO.

GibtownGibsonton, Florida is the retirement and off-season home for hundreds of carnival and circus show people. Called "Gibtown" by many of its residents, the town was at one time considered the oddest place is America. You could walk into any restaurant and find The World's Only Living Half Girl sipping coffee with her 8 foot 4 inch husband, Giant Al. They, along with The Lobster Man, Alligator Skin Man and the Monkey Girl, among others, made their living touring with carnival sideshows. The sideshows are mostly gone. We take a look back at sideshows through the lens of Gibtown.

July 20

ChickensProducer Adi Gevins presents both a lighthearted and serious examination of chickens and their
relationship to humans in historical, cultural, economic and institutional contexts.

Life before the ComputerRemember the first television set your family got? Or the first transistor radio that was really all your own? Our relationship with technology is oddly intimate, worming its way into even our most evocative memories. Producer Ilene Segalove talks to people with humorous memories of the "latest technologies" of their childhoods, now faded into obscurity in the computer age.

July 13

Bean JumpingThis is the story of the immigration experience of two
sister communities: one in the Ecuadorian Mountains, and the other in Suffolk County, on Long Island in New York. A 2008 hate-crime killing brought to light a pattern of abuse, persecution, and violence that shocked the residents of Patchogue, a quiet coastal suburban "Anytown, USA" -- but maybe didn't shock the residents of the community in the shadows, or their family members 3000 miles away. Producer Charles Lane reported on and covered the local story, and now brings us the international story. He found that the meaning of "American Dream" might be changing, and he discovered a Latino Dream.

Dream DeferredEach year 5,000 refugee children arrive in the U.S. penniless and alone, seeking asylum and freedom. A third are locked up - some alongside violent offenders. Many are deported back to traumatic home situations. The U.S. government does not provide them with lawyers, yet whether they can stay legally is decided in court. Dream Deferred follows two of these children, Juan Pablo from Honduras and Jimmy from Punjab, India. Why did they leave? What dreams are they chasing? How did they get here and where are they today?

July 6

Mosquitoes in IquitosIquitos, Peru, home to nearly 400,000 people, is a living laboratory. Researchers there are tracing the spread of lethal dengue fever by going door to door in neighborhoods throughout the city. They're mapping the spread of the virus, as well as the mosquitoes that carry it. Producer Dan Charles follows researchers as they try to figure out what people can do to stop it.

The BucketWhen you lower a bucket into the ocean, from a pier or off the side of a ship, it may well seem to come up containing nothing but clear water. But scientists now know that every teaspoonful of that water can contain a hundred-million tiny viruses. That sounds sinister, but without them the ocean couldn't function. Every day, marine viruses invade bacteria and other organisms, releasing their nutrients to the underwater food chain. Only since the late 1980's have marine biologists been aware of how many viruses are indigenous to the ocean, and how powerful and varied they are. They differ radically in size, shape, and DNA blueprint -- so much so that totally novel DNA keeps being discovered, with implications for anything from anti-aging creams to anti-cancer drugs and evolutionary science. Far from being a bad thing, these amazing marine viruses are useful, dramatic, novel, and dynamic; imagine that all hiding in your bucket of clear water!
Producer Judith Kampfner travels from the coast of Plymouth in England to Santa Monica to meet with some of the intrepid pioneers who are on the trail of these new natural marvels.

Photograph of algae, Emiliania Huxleyi, was provided with permission by The Natural History Museum, London (Dr. Jeremy Young) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Angie Fox) / 2009.

June 2012

June 29

Measles: What's at StakeMeasles, once a rite of passage for thousands of children (and their parents), has largely been eliminated in this country, thanks to the MMR vaccine. How this happened is an illustration of herd immunity: that is, that although not everyone is vaccinated against measles, enough people have so that the virus has a hard time finding a new host. However, recent, small outbreaks in the U.S. have public health officials worried. The outbreaks mean that herd immunity is breaking down. Producer Barbara Bogaev explores why even a minor Measles outbreak can be a major risk, and how some community pressures, social stigmas, and disputed medical reports have lead to the breakdown.

Relating to DadDoes Father know best? Some teenagers think Dads are dominating, disciplinarians who don't always have respect for the thoughts of their young minds. Dads dismiss the day-to-day obstacles of peer pressure, school, and for some teens, work. Producer Joe Gill talks with 17 year-old Cristin about "what a father is," or "what a father is supposed to be" or "why a father is important in a woman's life". Blending audio diaries and conversations, Relating to Dad takes a look at one teen's view about "the father of the imagination" who fills in for the absent, real father.

June 22

The Color of ShakespeareAt countless times in America, and for countless groups of citizens, the question has come up: Who "owns" Shakespeare? Who is it meant for, and to whom does it mean what? This is a particularly poignant question in the case of African-Americans, whom some have sought to exclude from the Bard's work. This story looks at minstrel show parodies of Shakespeare, color-blind casting of Shakespeare, and the African-American experience with Shakespeare. Produced by Richard Paul and narrated by Sam Waterston, The Color of Shakespeare was made possible with support from the Folger Library.

The Busker and the DivaMargaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano".
While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated.
Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives.

June 15

War and ForgivenessMemorial Day is a day of remembrance of wars won and lost. Often, we think of the battles and the victories. At times, we consider the inevitable war crimes: the massacres, rapes and other atrocities. Rarely do we consider the perspectives of those who are responsible as well as those who are injured. In a special hour long documentary, War and Forgiveness, we present two sides of the equation: the victims and the perpetrators of wartime atrocities. WNYC, RADIO NETHERLANDS, and SOUNDPRINT have collaborated on a two part program that looks at women in Korea who were commandeered to have sex with Japanese soldiers during World War II and Dutch soldiers who carried out a torture campaign in Indonesia. As different as their stories are, they reach the same conclusion: the need for a moral apology from the government.

June 8

Birthday SuitJanet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country.
Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped.
Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time?

The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment".
I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections.

Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less?
And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm?
And then how hygenic really are these places?
At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule.
And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen.
It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic.
Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'?

Summer TriptychSummer afternoon. The two most beautiful words in the English language, according to Henry James. While away the afternoon at a ballgame. Take your kid to the state fair. Go for a ride on a Ferris wheel. It's the one time of year when nature sets out to amuse us. Of course, it's an illusion. You need only be stuck behind a desk and looking out the office window to get a reality check. But if summer is an illusion, at least it's a grand illusion, and well worth the trouble. Producers David Isay, Dan Collison, and Neenah Ellis take us back stage behind the sets, props, facades, carnivals, games and country fairs. We're going to meet the technicians of summer, the people who work to make it happen.

June 1

Paris: Heat WaveIn August 2003, European suffered the worst heat wave in at least 500 years. Many weather records were set that month. Great Britain reported its hottest day ever. Forest fires raged in much of southern Europe, themselves causing deaths. Crops withered and trees died.
One of the cities hit hardest was Paris. Although the high heat started in early August, it was nearly mid-month, after hundreds of people had been killed, before the French government realized that the heat wave had turned deadly in Paris.
Before the heat wave was over, the city’s morgues had to requisition refrigerator trucks just to hold the excessive number of dead bodies. More than 1,000 Parisians had died of dehydration, heat stroke and other ailments caused by high heat, a disproportionate fraction of which were single, elderly women. Producer Dan Grossman tells us the story of the Paris Heat Wave, and the signs that other parts of the world, including parts of the U.S. Midwest, could soon face significantly increased climate extremes.

Cities of the PlainUrban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

May 2012

May 25

Foot and Mouth DiseaseThe virus that causes FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease) is one of the most feared among farmers. It can decimate herds. Even if animals recover, beef and milk production can be severely impacted. FMD is so contagious, and such a dreaded disease, that animal health agencies in outbreak countries fear stigmatization if outbreaks aren't eradicated quickly. Draconian measures such as mass killings and burning of carcasses are often employed, as the effectiveness of vaccines is short-lived, and the FMD virus has seven distinct varieties. As part of our special World of Virus series, producer Judith Kampfner takes us to the UK, where the damage from an FMD outbreak 10 years ago is still fresh in farmers' minds, and to South Korea, which has dealt with 5 outbreaks in the past decade, to show us the devastation of FMD, why it's so hard to eradicate, and the drastic steps taken to keep the US FMD-free.

Where the Buffalo RoamHong Kong is largely known for its sophisticated mix of every thing modern, and its thriving economy, but this island city of over 7 million people also has a thriving animal kingdom. Like their human counterparts, these animals are not native to the land.
Sarah Passmore of Radio Television Hong Kong introduces these animals, from "Pui Pui" the celebrity crocodile to the Rhesus Monkeys that terrorize women and children.
For our Global Perspective Series on Escape, Sarah Passmore shows us around Hong Kong where the Buffalo roam.

May 18

Hockey Diaries: Ready to PlayAt the start of the 2008-2009 hockey season, two Canadian players packed up their gear and headed east to Washington DC, home of the NHL Washington Capitals. Nineteen-year-old British Columbia rookie Karl Alzner was hoping to win a coveted spot on the team. Saskatchewan veteran Brooks Laich had just signed a new 3-year contract and was anxious to get started. Both players carried audio diaries that they would use to document their season. This is the story of that unfolded, from the exhaustion and suspense of training camp all the way to the exhilaration and emotion of the playoffs. The grind of long road-trips, the challenges of injuries and personal setbacks, the politics of the locker room, the expectations of fans, family and self… and the relentless pressure that comes with chasing hockey's biggest prize, the Stanley Cup: with all this, Karl Alzner and Brooks Laich bring us the story of everything it takes to make it as a professional hockey player.

Van Gogh and GauguinVincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of the late 19th century. A brief but intense collaboration occurred between the two artists. They met in Paris in the autumn of 1887. Each man tried to learn from the other and admired the other's work. Their collaboration was marked at first by mutual support and dialogue, but there was also competition and friction. The men differed sharply in their views on art: Gauguin favored working from memory and allowing abstract mental processes to shape his images, while Vincent held an unshakeable reverence for the physical reality of the observable world of models and Nature. This is reflected in the very different techniques each artist used. But toward the end of 1888, a series of violent incidents around Christmas Eve brought a dramatic end to their collaboration. This is the story of their personal and professional relationship.

May 11

Sam's StorySam was brought to the United States by his parents as a young child, but his family overstayed their visas. Over the past fourteen years, Sam has grown from a small boy to a young man — taught in American schools and churches, he grew up like any other American kid. But when he was asked to fill in his social security number on a financial aid form, he began to realize the consequences of being undocumented.
Long Haul Productions picks up Sam's story as he's graduating from high school in Elkhart, Indiana, and looking to start his first year of college.

Citizenship DiaryHow many stars and how many stripes and what do they mean? You need to know this and many more flag questions to pass the US Naturalization test. Judith Kampfner recorded an audio diary about the process of becoming an American citizen, and about what it was like taking on a second identity. Was it a betrayal of her British roots? Or was it a very logical step to take for someone who thinks of herself as in internationalist? Many more people are becoming dual or multiple citizens today as more countries accept the idea - Mexico, Columbia and the Dominican Republic for instance. Does this dilute the concept of citizenship? Indeed perhaps we are less likely to identify ourselves as citizens today because we are part of a global culture and travel more. Kampfner discovers that going through the paperwork, the test and the ceremony does not help her feel American - that is something she and all the others who are processed have to do for themselves.

May 4

The President's MotherIn 2010 President Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived for 4 years as a child, and noted how much it had changed. His first experience of that country was when he relocated there with his mother, Ann Dunham, and her second husband. Dunham was an anthropologist, a micro-financier, and an advocate for improving women's lives in developing nations, especially Indonesia. She did this with incredible charm and charisma, qualities some see in the President. Producer Judith Kampfner spoke with Ann's friends and colleagues, along with Obama's half-sister Maya, to learn all about the President's Mother.

Children and GodThe three major monotheistic religions operate from the assumption that: We have the truth, we have a privileged position, we are above others who do not believe as we do, and we are against others who do not believe as we do. This line of thinking creates strong communities of people with deep, abiding faith. But the dark side of these ideas can be seen in Srebrenica, the West Bank and the World Trade Center.
The religious person learns concepts like "God" and "My Religion" at the same time as concepts like "Green" and "Family." By preadolescence, these ideas have been planted quite deeply. This program takes a look at the results by following three 12-year olds - an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim and an Evangelical Christian -- as they pursue their religious education. We hear the songs they sing, the prayers they chant, the lessons they read and how their formal and informal training drives them to believe that, because of their religion, they have a special and exclusive relationship with God.

April 2012

April 27

Totally Hidden VideoThrough the medium they call 'totally hidden video,' a group of Harlem 7th graders present a disarming perspective on life in their neighborhoods, at school and on the playgrounds, and at home. Producer Mary Beth Kirchner first explained the use of microphones and tape recorders to a small workshop of 7th graders at The Children's Storefront school, and then let them take over. They've selected the subject matter and conducted the interviews for this humorous and touching self-portrait.

RevengeIt seems we all love to hear revenge stories --
the petty ones and the grand -- even when they
are painful or the recipient is blameless. And we
seem to love to tell revenge stories about
ourselves -- even stories that make us look
childish or venal. Revenge visits the unspoken
dark place where revenge impulses lie through the
stories of people who have planned revenge and
those who have carried it out.

April 20

Upright GrandA document of the poignant moment in the life of
Producer Tim Wilson's own mother, a daunting figure and
a once-accomplished pianist, now diagnosed with
Alzheimer's, when she is forced to leave her
apartment, her pearls, and her 'upright grand' to
enter 'a home.' Upright Grand turns into a
searching examination of the often ambiguous
relationship between a mother and son.

Hospice ChroniclesIt's been forty years since St. Christopher's Hospice – the first modern hospice – opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have chosen hospice at the end of their lives, with many patients choosing to receive care in their homes.
Over the course of eight months, team Long Haul followed two hospice volunteers through their training and first assignments in patients' homes. Trained to provide "respite care," the volunteers set out to give family members a break from their caretaking responsibilities. And while one has a chance to reflect on her patient's life in a intimate setting, another gets to explore death in a rather unexpected way – a way that training never could have prepared him for.

April 13

The Public Green and the PoorNumerous times in American history, reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature -- the belief being that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently. And it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program, from Producer Richard Paul, looks at a time in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor. It airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

The Evolution BoomerangAs humans continue to make their imprint on Earth, they find they are making a noticeable difference in the evolution of different species. The Evolution Boomerang looks at the effect humans are having on insects, fish and certain kinds of bacterium, and how that evolution is in turn affecting humans.

The TravelerThe monarch butterfly is the greatest marathon runner of the insect world. Each year in May hundreds of millions of them take off from their winter quarters in Morelia, Mexico to begin a perilously delicate 3000 mile journey north. With luck, three months later by the human calendar but three generations later in butterfly time, the Monarchs reach northern United States and southern Canada. In late summer their journey begins again, and they arrive back in their winter roosts around the time of the Mexican Day of the Dead in late November. And while the monarch butterfly is beautiful, it is also mysterious. We don't know how the monarchs know where to go. We have no idea how they navigate the annual route along identical flight paths, right down to nesting on the same trees in the same fields year after year. And we don't know how they pass on the knowledge of those routes to the future generations that make the return trip. Producer Chris Brookes takes us on an in-depth journey with the monarch butterfly, and looks at three factors that may be threatening its existence.

The Last OutIf you are a baseball junkie, this program is for you. Producers Moira Rankin and Dan Collison explore the baseball fan's addiction to the game as they follow two die-hard enthusiasts to see how they endure the off-season in anticipation of the spring.

March 2012

March 30

Original Kasper's Hot DogsDuring its seventy year tenure, a hot dog stand
in Oakland has become an anchor for residents of
the city's Temescal neighborhood in good times
and bad. This is the story of Kasper's Original
Hot Dogs.

Rodeo LifeRodeo isn't just a sport, it's a way of life. From youngsters just starting out in junior competitions to seasoned veterans vying for national championships, rodeo cowboys are a dedicated group of athletes. They spend long hours traveling from rodeo to rodeo for the chance to risk injury and court glory atop bucking horses and bulls, or to see who's the fastest to rope a calf or wrestle a steer to the ground, all with no guarantee of a paycheck at days end. Producer Matt McCleskey talked to rodeo cowboys about their rough and tumble sport and prepared this documentary.

March 23

Every Tree Tells A StoryUrban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park.

April in ParisEver since Ben Franklin fell in love with it and came home with tales of 'Gay Paree', Americans have
held to golden images of the city: the capital of eating and drinking, of glamorous night life, of
perfume. Even if we haven't been there we can see in our mind's eye the barges gliding along the Seine,
the lovers kissing in the streets and on park benches; we can smell the exotic cooking, and over it all we
can hear the wistful accordion music. But how much of all this is myth, how much reality? Producer
Alice Furlaud explores the question, starting with the myth that Vernon Duke created in his nostalgic
song, 'April in Paris'. Don't come in April, she advises, better wait 'til May.

March 16

SurvivorIn 1942 a US Navy destroyer was shipwrecked off Newfoundland. Of the few who survived, one man, Lanier Phillips, was black. The rescuers, never having seen a black man before, tried to scrub his skin clean and white. This is a story about growing up with fear in segregated Georgia, enlisting in a segregated navy, facing death in the icy North Atlantic, and a rescue which galvanized a man to fight racial discrimination.

Remains of the Sword: Armenian OrphansNinety years ago, up to 1.5 million Armenians were deported and died at the hands of the Ottoman rulers of Turkey. But it is believed that Turkish families saved thousands of orphaned Armenian children secretly. Some children who had been adopted were then forcibly taken away from their Turkish families by foreign troops and sent to orphanages in Europe. Until now, the very existence of the children has remained largely an untold story, buried along with those who died between 1915 and 1916. But their family members are slowly uncovering the stories of those Armenian orphans. The issue still remains extremely contentious, and the story of Armenian orphans is now becoming one of most sensitive and emotionally charged issues in Turkish society. Producer Dorian Jones exposes how descendants of Armenian orphans are discovering their family histories.

March 9

The Urban Forest Healing CenterFrom the time he wrote ‘Walden – Life in the Woods’ philosopher Henry David Thoreau understood the restorative value of trees to the human soul. More than 100 years later researchers are discovering that a pleasurable walk among trees and green space can calm an active child, refresh a tired mind, and make all of us feel better. The view of a tree outside a window can make an office worker more productive, a hospital stay shorter, or a prison sentence more bearable. Even in the most deprived inner city, trees and green space around buildings reduce crime and violence as well as promote a sense of community and well-being. In our series, Tales from Urban Forests, Jean Snedegar explores the power of trees to restore us, body and mind.

Watershed 263In urban areas across the country, trees and grass have been replaced with pavement and concrete. Storm water runoff from these paved surfaces in cities can be saturated with harmful substances such as gasoline, oil and trash. We head to the inner city of Baltimore where partners have joined forces to clean up the runoff flowing into the harbor and into the Chesapeake Bay, and at the same time to improve the quality of life for the residents living there.

March 2

The Music Boat ManReinier Sijpkens travels around the world making magic and music for children. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, trumpet and conch. Producer Dheera Sujan meets with this illusive magical character who says his day job is "developing his soul."

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?Practice, practice, practice - and that
is what millions of people across the
country have done for generations.
Piano lessons led to recitals, with
dreams of glory dancing in their heads
- or at the least their doting parents
and relatives. What happened after all
of those hours of agonizing scale runs
and finger exercises? Did it all go for
naught - to be wasted away in parlor
entertainment with endless renditions
of Heart and Soul? Composer Brenda Hutchinson set out across the U.S. to find out - with a U-Haul truck, a piano and a microphone.

February 2012

February 24

Touchstones of RealityHaving a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder isn’t easy for patients, or for their families. In the early days of mental illness, the pressures can tear families apart, and many of them don't know where to turn. As patients and caretakers age, things can get even tougher. While mental health services may provide some support, it's often family members who remain the only "touchstones of reality" for the person suffering with a severe mental illness. Producer Jean Snedegar speaks to several families who face the difficult challenge of supporting their mentally ill family members throughout the course of their lives.

Lost in AmericaFour people living on the edge--drug addicts, a prostitute and a blind woman--recount their journeys to a new life, revealing the connections between home and homelessness along the way. Producer Helen Borten brings us "Lost in America." This program won an EMMA award from the National Women's Political Caucus for Best Radio Documentary.

February 17

The Spoken WordJoin us on a journey through the rich tradition of performance poetry, set in Washington DC's famous and eclectic U Street corridor. Our program takes you from memories of the live poetry clubs that emerged there in the 1960's, through the D.C. riots that saw venues closing down and artists scattering to the West Coast, to the modern day renaissance of the spoken word tradition. Our story is narrated by performance poets M'wili Yaw Askari, Toni Ashanti Lightfoot and Matthew Payne.

Going Home to the BluesPeople say going down south is like
going home. Take a trip to the
Mississippi Delta to find the true
meaning of the Blues.
Everyone has hard times throughout
their lives, but does that classify as
the Blues? Producers Askia Muhammed and
Debra Morris search for an answer while
going home.

February 10

Mother-In-LawThe relationship between mother- in –law and daughter/son in law has no rules and it’s easy to take a false step. Producer Judith Kampfner is on her own journey to be, if not the perfect mother-in-law, then at least one that breaks stereotypes and avoids common pitfalls. In the process, she interviews other mother-in-laws, many from different backgrounds, as well as daughter and son in-laws. Far from isolating ourselves in nuclear units, she finds that we work at and care for extended and blended connections more than ever.

The United States of DatingA producer's quest for real stories of how people meet each other in the current dating environment, and how they negotiate their dating
relationships. Along the way, we'll hear from matchmakers, relationship experts and common-or-garden daters. We'll explore how the written word still rules romance and dating etiquette -- from staccato text-message shorthand to classified ads, postcards and email. We'll meet the Dating Coach who advises clients on putting their best face forward; New York City's own cupid cab driver who tries his hand at amateur matchmaking in Manhattan gridlock; a political activist who runs a booming online dating
service for like-minded lefties (motto: "take action, get action"); and a woman who blogs her private dating activities in a public online diary...
with some surprising results. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

February 3

Sleeping through the DreamIn 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington and spoke the famous words "I have a dream." Then 18 year-old Producer Askia Muhammad was, as he recalls, 'sleeping through the dream.' Growing up in Los Angeles, Muhammad was far away from the civil rights uproar and any self-proclaimed political consciousness. Now 40 years later, Muhammad revisits his youth with two close friends. Join us for the journey of a young man's political awakening during a time of intense social unrest.

Keysville, GA: Old Dreams, New SouthOn January 4, 1988, 63-year-old Emma Gresham
became the first black mayor - the first
mayor in half a century- of Keysville, Georgia.
She won the election over her opponent by 10
votes. In the town courthouse, on a trailer
mounted on cinderblocks, a banner reads:
Justice Knows No Boundaries. It's a constant
reminder of both the town's troubled history
and the dreams the mayor has for the town.
In this small, mostly black, southern town,
Emma Gresham employed education, patience,
and political action, along with her famous
biscuits, to realize her dream of a better
life for her constituents. Producer Dan Collison
takes us to Keysville for a look at the struggle
for survival in the town that time forgot.

January 2012

January 27

Traffic Islands:Dividing LinesTraffic Islands: Dividing Lines
This documentary explores the collective narrative created by people whose lives
intersect in different ways with traffic islands and streetscapes. From a scientist trying to rationalize urban wildlife patterns, to a man who makes a living on the street corner, to people who use the streetscape to
memorialize loved ones: what they have in common is that they map out private parts of their
lives on the public traffic grid. We'll hear about this traffic island life in
stories from the medians, as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives on Islands.

Yellow and BlackTalk about taxis as a guilty pleasure! Whether it's riding in style on the streets of New York (avoiding the hustle, bustle, and pain of the Subway), or zipping across London's spiraling maze of cross-streets (never doubting your intrepid guide's sense of direction), producer Judith Kampfner takes us on a tour of Taxi drivers -- the rough-edged New York City cabbies, and the traditional, vintage hacks of London.

January 20

HPV - the Shy VirusThe Human Papillomavirus - or HPV - is a common virus that touches billions of human beings in one way or another - from a tiny wart on the hand to invasive cancer. HPV is a major health threat worldwide, yet mostly harmless. The virus can "hide" for years from a person's immune system - with no apparent ill effects - then awaken and create deadly disease. This is the story of a virus that often doesn't act as scientists expect it to - a puzzling, paradoxical virus. HPV, the Shy Virus is part of the series "World of Viruses".

The photograph showing the structure of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is provided with permission by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2009.

The ClinicSouth Africa’s approach to HIV/AIDS has dramatically changed in recent years. For more than two decades, a combination of government inaction, socio-political conflict, and controversial public health policies led to the situation that South Africa finds itself in today: home to the largest number of people living with HIV. Now the country is trying to make up for lost time, both in prevention and in treatment.

The government has launched an ambitious HIV Counseling and Testing campaign that would include 15 million people by 2011, with the goal of reducing the HIV incidence rate by half. At public health clinics across the country, addressing the science of HIV/AIDS means addressing a litany of social problems, too. Producer Gemma Hooley speaks to scientists, researchers, field workers and patients as South Africa fights to slow the march of the virulent disease. Our program today is called The Clinic.

The photograph of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)was provided with permission from the Nebraska State Museum/ Angie Fox, Ilustrator/ 2005.

January 13

Mosquitoes in IquitosIquitos, Peru, home to nearly 400,000 people, is a living laboratory. Researchers there are tracing the spread of lethal dengue fever by going door to door in neighborhoods throughout the city. They're mapping the spread of the virus, as well as the mosquitoes that carry it. Producer Dan Charles follows researchers as they try to figure out what people can do to stop it.

The BucketWhen you lower a bucket into the ocean, from a pier or off the side of a ship, it may well seem to come up containing nothing but clear water. But scientists now know that every teaspoonful of that water can contain a hundred-million tiny viruses. That sounds sinister, but without them the ocean couldn't function. Every day, marine viruses invade bacteria and other organisms, releasing their nutrients to the underwater food chain. Only since the late 1980's have marine biologists been aware of how many viruses are indigenous to the ocean, and how powerful and varied they are. They differ radically in size, shape, and DNA blueprint -- so much so that totally novel DNA keeps being discovered, with implications for anything from anti-aging creams to anti-cancer drugs and evolutionary science. Far from being a bad thing, these amazing marine viruses are useful, dramatic, novel, and dynamic; imagine that all hiding in your bucket of clear water!
Producer Judith Kampfner travels from the coast of Plymouth in England to Santa Monica to meet with some of the intrepid pioneers who are on the trail of these new natural marvels.

Photograph of algae, Emiliania Huxleyi, was provided with permission by The Natural History Museum, London (Dr. Jeremy Young) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Angie Fox) / 2009.

January 6

After the ForgettingThis is a story about a Vermont family's experience living with an elderly member's progressive dementia. It is told in a series of interview segments and dinner conversations among the story's three characters, Gregory Sharrow, his husband Bob Hooker, and Greg's mother Marjorie. The story explores the relationship with a son and son-in-law whose names Marjorie can't remember. It addresses the question, what happens to love when there is no more memory? There is no narration in the story. Brooklyn musician Karinne Keithley created music for the story. For more about Karinne Keithley, go to: http://www.fancystitchmachine.org/ Thanks to Rob Rosenthal for his mentorship during the production of this piece.

Hospice Chronicles: Joe and RogerIn 1967, St. Christopher's Hospice – the first modern hospice – opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have chosen hospice at the end of their lives, with many patients choosing to receive care in their homes. In Hospice Chronicles: Joe and Roger, team Long Haul follows Joe, a volunteer trained in "respite care", giving family members a break from caretaking responsibilities. As Joe, a Buddhist, engages Roger, a devout Christian, in discussions of death and (im)mortality, he finds himself exploring death in a way for which training could not have prepared him.

December 2011

December 30

Mummers at the DoorLong before Santa, Bing Crosby and the Mattel Toy Company stole the occasion, even before Christianity itself kidnapped it, the Winter Solstice was celebrated with seasonal ritual. One ancient solstice custom is Mummering. Still practiced annually in many parts of England and Ireland, this great-grand-daddy of Halloween masquerade died out in much of Canada and the United States centuries ago. In North America today it is a popular part of Christmas now only in Newfoundland and Pennsylvania.

On any night during the twelve days of Christmas you may hear a pounding on your door and strange indrawn voices shouting outside: Any mummers allowed? Whether allowed or not, the mummers will tumble in, loud and masked and rowdy and possibly threatening, turning normal household decorum upside down. They may be friends or complete strangers, and unless you can guess their identities you cannot be sure who is behind the mask or whether their intentions are benign. They are certain to track muddy boots across your carpet, play music, demand drink and act outrageously. All over Newfoundland, these rough-and-tumble spirits of the ancient winter solstice have survived despite the religious and commercial hoopla of modern Christmas.

Photos courtesy of Paul Turner

A Little Before 'Tis DayThere is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.

December 23

World of Viruses:Flu PandemicFrom pig to farm worker and back to pig – that’s the path of the perfect swine flu virus. Likewise, chickens and turkeys, not to mention geese and birds, are hot zones for pandemic flu viruses. In the past, when governments grew concerned about a particular flu, often they will isolate, quarantine or even kill animals that carry a suspect virus. Now animal health and public health authorities are beginning to collaborate on more extensive bio-security. Producer Lakshmi Singh visits farms, fairs and clinics, to find out how surveillance is preparing for the next pandemic.

The illustration, which shows how flu pandemics are spread, is provided with permission from 2006 Albrecht GFX and the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

My So Called LungsLaura Rothenberg is 21 years old, but, as she
likes to say, she already had her mid-life crisis
a couple of years ago, and even then it was a few
years late. Laura has cystic fibrosis, a genetic
disorder that affects the lungs and other organs.
People with CF live an average of 30 years. Two
years ago, we gave Laura a tape recorder. Since
that time, Laura has been keeping an audio diary
of her battle with the disease and her attempts
to lead a normal life with lungs than often
betray her.

December 16

Time on the Outside: Hope's StoryAbout 2.3 million adults are incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons. That's almost 1% of the adult population, including the parents of over 1.7 million children. William and Candice are two of those children. Their single-parent father is doing time 9 hours away from home, so they've moved in with their grandmother, Hope.
Over the course of a year, two long car trips, multiple moves, and new schools, producer Shannon Heffernan finds out how Hope's family lives while serving Time on the Outside.

Survivors(2009)President Obama has declared that “We have banned torture without
exception.” However, some would take exception to this claim. The
practice of isolating a prisoner in solitary confinement for extended periods of time causes severe sensory deprivation and has been denounced as torture by the United Nations. But tens of thousands of inmates are locked up in solitary confinement in American prisons today. And the number is rapidly growing. Often prisoners spend years – even decades – by themselves in a cell the size of a small bathroom. They don't see anyone. They don't talk to anyone. They don't touch anyone. What does this experience do to a person's mental state?
Claire Schoen shows us what solitary confinement looks, sounds and
feels like.

December 9

Changing Spaces: Hampden, BaltimoreProducer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community.

The Changing Face of Neighborhood CrimeA look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

December 2

The BattlersThis documentary takes us deep into the experience of Australia's urban poor. We accompany the volunteers of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, past the million dollar real estate, the mansions, swimming pools and harbor views of Sydney's eastern suburbs, into the homes and lives of the real battlers - people unable to afford to keep a roof over their heads, or feed and clothe their children. This program comes to us from Producer Sharon Davis of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Our Daily BreadAn aural picture of a Baltimore neighborhood soup kitchen created through the stories of the lives of several regular customers. We are surrounded by the sounds of the streets that are their homes, and we share a sense of hope, despite the empty routine of merely getting through another day with a stop at the soup kitchen.

November 2011

November 25

Life at McMurdoThe science station called McMurdo has been operating on the southern tip of the continent since 1956. It’s an important research center, attracting geologists, physicists, engineers, hydrologists, pilots, and just plain adventure-seekers. McMurdo Station has grown so much, in fact, that it’s really a town unto itself. It’s got a harbor, three airfields, a heliport, over a hundred buildings, and a bowling alley. After all, if people are going to work in such a bleak outpost, they need some recreation!
About a thousand people work at McMurdo in the summer -- 200 in the dead of winter -- and the scientists depend on the non-scientists to keep the place humming.
SOUNDPRINT went to McMurdo as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration Pole to Pole to cover a scientific project. While we were there, we met the diverse and colorful group of people who constitute LIFE AT MCMURDO.

GibtownGibsonton, Florida is the retirement and off-season home for hundreds of carnival and circus show people. Called "Gibtown" by many of its residents, the town was at one time considered the oddest place is America. You could walk into any restaurant and find The World's Only Living Half Girl sipping coffee with her 8 foot 4 inch husband, Giant Al. They, along with The Lobster Man, Alligator Skin Man and the Monkey Girl, among others, made their living touring with carnival sideshows. The sideshows are mostly gone. We take a look back at sideshows through the lens of Gibtown.

November 18

Gut ReactionThere is a disease you've probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn't know. Doctors now believe that one in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only one in 4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac Disease is an intestinal disorder where, when you eat wheat, barley or rye, your immune system attacks the food as if it were a virus. The results are devastating and painful. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only two or three years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors. Producer Richard Paul presents the story of how Celiac Disease played itself out in the lives of 10 people.

Sunshine and DarknessXeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic mutation with a number of implications. It can be life threatening. It diminishes the body's resistance to UV waves. People with XP can't tolerate sunlight. The older they get, the worse the problem becomes. People with XP have to be completely covered up before they go out, and even inside they live with curtains drawn. The disorder also creates a bubble around the person with XP, their family and friends. Often isolated, even in school, their connection to the world is tenuous.
Today, that isolation is breaking down. Producer Marti Covington reports on how schools, families and technology are helping people with this rare disorder (only 125 people in the United States have it) connect with the world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

November 11

The Soybean WarsSoybeans, rows and rows of soybeans all around. In western Paraguay
the fields that were once thick rain forests are now soybean
plantations. They stretch far into the distance swaying hypnotically
back and forth in the wind. This ocean of soy, though, is dotted
with small islands--houses, actually, that belong to the subsistence
campensinos who once eked out a living farming an array of crops like
sugar, cotton, wheat, and maize. But now there is only industrial
harvested soy. And pesticides.
Soybeans, of course, have a very good reputation in the West (think tofu
and biofuels), but the reality is they have damaging repercussions in
developing nations where environmental laws are lax and local
populations are exploited by multinational corporations. Right now,
this is happening in Paraguay, the world's fastest growing soybean
producer.

The Bourbons, the Wampum and Boodle Boys, and Stalin's Mortimer SnerdIn 1948 the Democratic party faced extraordinary challenges: how to forge an alliance between Southern conservatives, Western progressives and big city labor; how to incorporate a civil rights plank; how to quell the rise of a third party. Truman, Dewey and Henry Wallace. It was a year of upsets. Producer Moira Rankin brings us the sense, and sounds, of that pivotol election year. And are there political and social lessons for this year's presidential contest to be learned from the election of '48.

November 4

IGY:Weather ReportUntil satellites came along, weather forecasting was either very local (it's raining) or very general (it's going to be warmer tomorrow). When satellites started sending pictures of the Earth and its atmosphere, a remarkable meteorologist named Harry Wexler, saw the opportunity for long range, global forecasting. In the late 1950's, as head of the U.S. Weather Bureau and chief U.S. scientist for the International Geophysical Year, Wexler not only had the vision, but the means to carry it out. Producer Barbara Bogaev looks at how Harry Wexler changed meteorology from weather forecasting to global climate research.

When the Snow Melts on SvalbardSnowy peaks, untouched wilderness as far as the eye can see -- the Svalbard archipelago, at 79° North, is a focal point of the world's Arctic research. Polar regions play a key role in regulating our climate. The are also the most sensitive to change. Just 750 miles from the North Pole, scientists from all over the world monitor what's happening to our climate and how changes affect life on our planet. Join Radio Deutsche-Welle producer Irene Quaile, as she tours Koldewey Station in the Svalbard archipelago as part of Pole to Pole, an international media celebration of the International Polar Year, produced with support from the National Science Foundation.

October 2011

October 28

At Home on Cape CodIn AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.

Living History in Colonial WilliamsburgStep back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, following a woman whose job it is to play an 18th slave character in Colonial Williamsburg; a woman who must learn, in 2004, to interpret and recreate 1770 slave culture for a tourist audience. The story is told through this character's own narration and reflection, her interaction with other historical characters and with the tourist public in Williamsburg, and through documentation of her daily tasks. As she steps in and out of character, we discover what it's like to step in and out of history: re-enacting the mundanities and tensions of 18th century life in the fields and kitchens during the day and negotiating a modern 21st century life after visiting hours.

October 21

Surviving ExtinctionAcross the United States, ecologists are battling to save endangered species from extinction. Scientists are now joining in the effort with sophisticated models that can be used to predict, and eventually prevent extinction. In this program, we travel to the Florida Everglades to see how the tiny Cape Sable Sparrow is faring despite an over-flooded environment, and to New England to find out how field mice are adapting after their habitat was destroyed. We discover what role scientific models play in the future of these species.

Fire and IceThe Eskimos in Alaska have a legend that they call "The year of no summer". One year, summer never came, winter just continued. No one could fish or hunt. And nothing could grow. The story is a creation myth. A few survivors were left to form what is now the Kauwerak tribe. Scientists are now looking at the legend as another piece of evidence for what they believe was a major climate shift in the Northern Hemisphere. Producer Dan Grossman takes on a journey to discover the truth behind the legend.

This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance. Click on the following link to find out more.
Global Perspective

October 14

Everest and BeyondA tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary. After his memorable conquest of Everest in 1953, this tall, craggy, modest man, added to his worldwide fame with expeditions to remote corners of the world and his activities serving the Sherpa people of Nepal. This New Zealand legend of the 20th century has lived life to the full – surviving personal tragedy as well as achieving historic triumphs and displaying tireless philanthropy. Produced by Jack Perkins of Radio New Zealand, ‘Everest And Beyond’ draws on the recollections of family, friends and colleagues of Sir Edmund Hillary and also uses audio from films shot in Nepal and India by documentary film maker Michael Dillon.

In My Father's DreamsRob Robins has always wanted to learn to fly, but with five kids to feed the former brewery worker’s budget would not stretch to lessons and running up the required number of flying hours to get his private pilot’s license.
Now at 74, and Rob is at last living his dream. He’s learning to fly.
Rob is fit. Until recently he’d regularly cycle up the winding hills that lie alongside his home town of Christchurch, and a few months ago, he walked the tough Milford Track through New Zealand's Southern Mountains. Yet, it’s taken him almost a year to pass the physical tests required before he can start flying lessons.
There’s also another catch - Rob has been deaf since he was five. This means that he has to learn at an airfield that does not have radio controls.
So in mid-March Rob and his wife Glenis, packed up their camper van and headed to an appointment with a vintage Tiger Moth bi-plane and the isolated Mandeville airfield, near Gore
Rob’s son , Julian Robins , goes along with a microphone to observe his father's progress

October 7

Game OverVideo games dull the brain and turn children into violence craving delinquents. That apparently is the popular opinion but not one that is entirely factual. Psychologists do see an increase in violent tendencies after game playing but they also note that students who play video games learn new technologies faster in school. What if video games could be educational and improve knowledge of math, science and social studies? That is what some video game developers and educators are working on. Combining curriculum with state of the art game software, they are testing how games can improve education and student participation in the classroom. Game Over takes a look at how video games are making a comeback in the educational world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

High School TimeFrom 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, a student, teacher, and principal let us in on their world of bells, tests, technology, and teen life.
We track what a day is like at Westfield High School in Virginia. With almost 3,000 students, it is one of the largest schools in the Washington, DC area. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

September 2011

September 30

Educating EmilyTwelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Teaching: The Next GenerationIn conversations about the use of technology in schools, what you'll often hear is: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom. The program also explores Mr. Mason's approach to teaching by testing his theories about "what works" against the opinions of education experts. Producer Richard Paul brings us "Teaching: The Next Generation." This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

September 23

Sneak OutIn the 1960's, in California, African American parents set up an elaborate ruse to get their children a better education. Restricted to poor schools in low income East Palo Alto, outside of San Francisco, parents looked across the freeway and devised a way to send their children to wealthy Palo Alto schools. A young mother, barely educated herself, organized the Sneak Out program. Working with white parents, the program was a modern day Underground Railroad. KQED FM's Kathy Baron paints a portrait of conducters and passengers, students and safe houses in the fight to end school segregation.

The High Stakes of Today's TestingStandardized tests have been around for years in the United States. What's different now is that schools and teachers are being held accountable for the results of these tests. Add to that new federal legislation, and the stakes are raised even higher, with threats of federal funding being cut off to underachieving school districts. Then there is the question of how and what the children are being tested on. Producer Katie Gott follows the paths of two failing schools, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, to understand how each state applies its testing policy, and how testing impacts schools, teachers, parents and children. What happens if these schools don't make the grade after the scores are in? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

September 16

Foot and Mouth DiseaseThe virus that causes FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease) is one of the most feared among farmers. It can decimate herds. Even if animals recover, beef and milk production can be severely impacted. FMD is so contagious, and such a dreaded disease, that animal health agencies in outbreak countries fear stigmatization if outbreaks aren't eradicated quickly. Draconian measures such as mass killings and burning of carcasses are often employed, as the effectiveness of vaccines is short-lived, and the FMD virus has seven distinct varieties. As part of our special World of Virus series, producer Judith Kampfner takes us to the UK, where the damage from an FMD outbreak 10 years ago is still fresh in farmers' minds, and to South Korea, which has dealt with 5 outbreaks in the past decade, to show us the devastation of FMD, why it's so hard to eradicate, and the drastic steps taken to keep the US FMD-free.

Where the Buffalo RoamHong Kong is largely known for its sophisticated mix of every thing modern, and its thriving economy, but this island city of over 7 million people also has a thriving animal kingdom. Like their human counterparts, these animals are not native to the land.
Sarah Passmore of Radio Television Hong Kong introduces these animals, from "Pui Pui" the celebrity crocodile to the Rhesus Monkeys that terrorize women and children.
For our Global Perspective Series on Escape, Sarah Passmore shows us around Hong Kong where the Buffalo roam.

September 9

Face to FaceWhat does it mean to be an American with the face of the enemy? Face to Face connects the experiences of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with those of Arab and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.Visit the Face to Face website

Testing the AlarmsSince 9/11, many people have come to view the world through a filter of anxiety. Daily media reports of terror attacks or threats keep us all on heightened alert. But what is the source of that fear?
A woman relives her brush with a possible suicide bomber on the London underground.
An Iranian man in the Netherlands recalls how he was prepared to attach a bomb to his body to destroy the enemies of Islam.
In "Testing the Alarms ", Fiona Stewart and Sassan Saghar Yaghmai offer two very different perspectives on fear and how it shades their lives. Joanna Bourke explores the history of the manipulation of fear. This documentary was produced by Michelle Ernsting of Radio Netherlands as a part of the Crossing Boundaries exchange.

September 2

The Busker and the DivaMargaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano".
While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated.
Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives.

Going Home: Bronx Memories and other StoriesA collection of three stories on the mysterious
tug that keep us going back home, again and
again. Carolyn Hopewell loves going back home to
her large extended southern family in Tidewater,
Virginia. She likes to hear the old family
stories, catch up and keep things centered. For
Lynn Neary the Bronx was a mythical place.
Childhood memories of her grandparents apartment
draw her back on a nostalgic journey, 20 years
later. Dan Collison tracks down a memory that
runs down generations of his family. It leads him
to the Shuffleboard Hall of Fame in Florida.

August 2011

August 26

After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's StoryBorn into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.

Code GreenCode Green explores the impact that hurricanes have on urban greencover, from integrating trees and wetlands into a city's infrastructure and disaster plan, to post-hurricane damage assessment of city trees and coastal marshes, to recovery and rebuilding. Hear from scientists, city planners and urban foresters about their work to establish, protect and restore the green infrastructure in the wake of catastrophic hurricanes, in coastal cities from Charleston to New Orleans. This program, from Producer Gemma Hooley, airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

August 19

IGY On the IceDuring the International Geophysical year, in the late 50's, teams of scientists poured in Antarctica, mining for data: about the weather, the climate and most especially, about the Ice. For some, it was the adventure of a lifetime. For others, the beginning of a long and illustrious career exploring the polar terrain. Producer Barbara Bogaev talks to some of the men who were there. Among them are: John Behrendt, who signed on as a young grad assistant, and went onto author numerous books about the ice; Tony Gow, who thought he was going to study volcanoes, and went onto to become one of the world's leading authorities on the properties of ice; Phil Smith, one of the few who knew how to safely forge a path around crevasses, and became one of the leading architects of international Antarctic policy; and Charlie Bentley, part of the team that made the first measurements of West Antarctic ice sheets, and became a world renown glaciologist.

Southern Ocean VoyageAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Margot Foster takes us on a voyage aboard the Aurora Australis, Australia's research vessel. The 7-week trip into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica lets scientists sample plants, animals, and ocean water quality and composition, in an attempt to uncover how climate change is affecting, and will be affected by, the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Producer Sarah Castor-Perry talks to scientists after the trip, to try to decipher the data they collected.

August 12

Trapped on the Wrong Side of HistoryIn 1939, California farm girl Mary Kimoto Tomita traveled to Japan to learn Japanese and connect with the culture of her ancestors. She boarded a ship two years later to come back home to America. Two days into the voyage, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The ship turned around and Mary was trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. Mary's story -- told through interviews and letters from the time -- is a rare glimpse at a piece of the World War II experience.

A Hiroshima StoryOn a sunny August morning in 1945, Keijiro Matsushima sat in his math class in Hiroshima. He looked out the window, saw two American bombers in the clear blue sky, and suddenly his world was torn apart. Now a retired English teacher, he fears young people today are no longer interested in his story.
On a sunny June morning in 2005, Amsterdam English teacher Kevin Hogan’s 11th grade class are reading a novel about Hiroshima. They are the same age Mr. Matsushima was sixty years ago. How will they react when they hear his story?
A Hiroshima Story was produced by David Swatling of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

August 5

Calling Mr. MarconiWhen Guglielmo Marconi installed a receiving station at St. Johns Newfoundland in November 1901 he probably never realized the full impact of his invention. Radio is now as remarkable as wallpaper. The people of St. Johns are determined to celebrate this most ubiquitous of mediums on the 100th anniversary of the transmission of the first signal across the Atlantic. Producer Chris Brookes from Battery Radio captures the town's enthusiasm as they move through the day.

Zoom Black Magic Liberation RadioMbanna Kantako's pirate radio station, broadcast from a corner of his living room, is heard in a two mile radius of the John Hay Homes housing project in Springfield, Illinois. 'Zoom Black Magic Radio' has attracted a relatively large audience with its mix of rap and reggae music, listener call-ins and political commentary. It has also attracted the attention of the FCC, the local legal system and the Springfield Police, all of whom have attempted to shut the station down.

July 2011

July 29

The ClinicSouth Africa’s approach to HIV/AIDS has dramatically changed in recent years. For more than two decades, a combination of government inaction, socio-political conflict, and controversial public health policies led to the situation that South Africa finds itself in today: home to the largest number of people living with HIV. Now the country is trying to make up for lost time, both in prevention and in treatment.

The government has launched an ambitious HIV Counseling and Testing campaign that would include 15 million people by 2011, with the goal of reducing the HIV incidence rate by half. At public health clinics across the country, addressing the science of HIV/AIDS means addressing a litany of social problems, too. Producer Gemma Hooley speaks to scientists, researchers, field workers and patients as South Africa fights to slow the march of the virulent disease. Our program today is called The Clinic.

The photograph of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)was provided with permission from the Nebraska State Museum/ Angie Fox, Ilustrator/ 2005.

HPV - the Shy VirusThe Human Papillomavirus - or HPV - is a common virus that touches billions of human beings in one way or another - from a tiny wart on the hand to invasive cancer. HPV is a major health threat worldwide, yet mostly harmless. The virus can "hide" for years from a person's immune system - with no apparent ill effects - then awaken and create deadly disease. This is the story of a virus that often doesn't act as scientists expect it to - a puzzling, paradoxical virus. HPV, the Shy Virus is part of the series "World of Viruses".

The photograph showing the structure of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is provided with permission by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2009.

July 22

Cut and PastePlagiarism at universities and colleges is rife - 4 out of 10 students admit they copy material from the internet and try to pass it off as their own work. For some it's an easy way out at the last minute; for others it's driven by cut-throat competition to get into the best graduate or professional schools. To deal with the issue, colleges and universities are trying many different approaches, from changing their teaching methods to using online detection filters to promoting a culture of integrity on campus. Producer Jean Snedegar visits faculty and students at Duke, the University of Virginia, and other colleges to discover the underside of higher learning. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Low Flying FishA spirited exploration of the culture of extreme motivation in America, from team- and vision- building in the corporate world ... to the multi- million dollar industry of self-improvement books and videos. Along the way, we'll meet Seattle's famous corporate-training fishmongers; hear from someone trying to figure out Who Moved Her Cheese; and be introduced to despair.com's lucrative mockery of the whole motivation business.

July 15

ChickensProducer Adi Gevins presents both a lighthearted and serious examination of chickens and their
relationship to humans in historical, cultural, economic and institutional contexts.

Life before the ComputerRemember the first television set your family got? Or the first transistor radio that was really all your own? Our relationship with technology is oddly intimate, worming its way into even our most evocative memories. Producer Ilene Segalove talks to people with humorous memories of the "latest technologies" of their childhoods, now faded into obscurity in the computer age.

July 8

Bean JumpingThis is the story of the immigration experience of two
sister communities: one in the Ecuadorian Mountains, and the other in Suffolk County, on Long Island in New York. A 2008 hate-crime killing brought to light a pattern of abuse, persecution, and violence that shocked the residents of Patchogue, a quiet coastal suburban "Anytown, USA" -- but maybe didn't shock the residents of the community in the shadows, or their family members 3000 miles away. Producer Charles Lane reported on and covered the local story, and now brings us the international story. He found that the meaning of "American Dream" might be changing, and he discovered a Latino Dream.

Running with AtalantaTen years ago, two young women were studying law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte – a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam.
The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare – a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man.
Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

July 1

Green Tea and LandminesThe streets of Mae Sot, on the Thai Burma border, are full of stories of loss and death and flight. About two and a half million Burmese have fled their country for Thailand, Burma remains one of the poorest countries in the world, and the protests against the military dictatorship have done little to change peoples' lives. In this episode, Nicole Steinke of the Australian broadcasting Corporation visits the extraordinary haven of Dr Cynthia Maung's Mae Tao Clinic. Funded mainly by foreign donations, Mae Tao Clinic runs the training center for the Backpack Medical Teams and the Free Burma Rangers, both of whom illegally cross the border back into Burma to help the country's ethnic minorities survive the onslaught of the Burmese military.
The Clinic is also where people come to vaccinate their babies, to be treated for malaria or cholera, or to receive a prosthetic -- many of the refugees fleeing the Burmese military have been forced to act as unwilling porters, or even as human landmine detectors.
We also meet long-time political prisoners, ethnic Burmese working to help their own people in their struggle against the Burmese military, and children who have crossed the border alone.

Holland's Black PageProducer Dheera Sujan from RADIO NETHERLANDS traces the stories of four former soldiers who tortured and killed Indonesian prisoners. Now in their seventies, they remember the details of quieting an open rebellion in the late 1940's. They remember the electrocutions, the torture and the killing. They also remember how they had to live in shame with the secrets. They call for the Dutch government to accept some measure of responsibility for what they say they were ordered to do. Their solace lies in being able to publicly discuss the events. Holland's Black Page originally aired as part of the collaboration War and Forgiveness, produced by Soundprint, WNYC, and Radio Netherlands with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

June 2011

June 24

Birthday SuitJanet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country.
Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped.
Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time?

The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment".
I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections.

Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less?
And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm?
And then how hygenic really are these places?
At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule.
And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen.
It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic.
Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'?

Summer TriptychSummer afternoon. The two most beautiful words in the English language, according to Henry James. While away the afternoon at a ballgame. Take your kid to the state fair. Go for a ride on a Ferris wheel. It's the one time of year when nature sets out to amuse us. Of course, it's an illusion. You need only be stuck behind a desk and looking out the office window to get a reality check. But if summer is an illusion, at least it's a grand illusion, and well worth the trouble. Producers David Isay, Dan Collison, and Neenah Ellis take us back stage behind the sets, props, facades, carnivals, games and country fairs. We're going to meet the technicians of summer, the people who work to make it happen.

June 17

Every Tree Tells A StoryUrban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park.

The Music Boat ManReinier Sijpkens travels around the world making magic and music for children. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, trumpet and conch. Producer Dheera Sujan meets with this illusive magical character who says his day job is "developing his soul."

June 10

Mosquitoes in IquitosIquitos, Peru, home to nearly 400,000 people, is a living laboratory. Researchers there are tracing the spread of lethal dengue fever by going door to door in neighborhoods throughout the city. They're mapping the spread of the virus, as well as the mosquitoes that carry it. Producer Dan Charles follows researchers as they try to figure out what people can do to stop it.

The BucketWhen you lower a bucket into the ocean, from a pier or off the side of a ship, it may well seem to come up containing nothing but clear water. But scientists now know that every teaspoonful of that water can contain a hundred-million tiny viruses. That sounds sinister, but without them the ocean couldn't function. Every day, marine viruses invade bacteria and other organisms, releasing their nutrients to the underwater food chain. Only since the late 1980's have marine biologists been aware of how many viruses are indigenous to the ocean, and how powerful and varied they are. They differ radically in size, shape, and DNA blueprint -- so much so that totally novel DNA keeps being discovered, with implications for anything from anti-aging creams to anti-cancer drugs and evolutionary science. Far from being a bad thing, these amazing marine viruses are useful, dramatic, novel, and dynamic; imagine that all hiding in your bucket of clear water!
Producer Judith Kampfner travels from the coast of Plymouth in England to Santa Monica to meet with some of the intrepid pioneers who are on the trail of these new natural marvels.

Photograph of algae, Emiliania Huxleyi, was provided with permission by The Natural History Museum, London (Dr. Jeremy Young) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Angie Fox) / 2009.

June 3

Paris: Heat WaveIn August 2003, European suffered the worst heat wave in at least 500 years. Many weather records were set that month. Great Britain reported its hottest day ever. Forest fires raged in much of southern Europe, themselves causing deaths. Crops withered and trees died.
One of the cities hit hardest was Paris. Although the high heat started in early August, it was nearly mid-month, after hundreds of people had been killed, before the French government realized that the heat wave had turned deadly in Paris.
Before the heat wave was over, the city’s morgues had to requisition refrigerator trucks just to hold the excessive number of dead bodies. More than 1,000 Parisians had died of dehydration, heat stroke and other ailments caused by high heat, a disproportionate fraction of which were single, elderly women. Producer Dan Grossman tells us the story of the Paris Heat Wave, and the signs that other parts of the world, including parts of the U.S. Midwest, could soon face significantly increased climate extremes.

Cities of the PlainUrban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

May 2011

May 27

The Orphan Train"The Orphan Train" is an unnarrated documentary about one of the least known and yet most significant social experiments in American history. In September 1854, the first "orphan train" carried 46 homeless children from New York City to far off homes to become laborers in the pioneer West. It was the first step in what was to become the emigration of as many as 250,000 orphan children to new homes throughout the entire United States. Some children found kind homes and families, others were overworked and abused. Widely duplicated throughout its 75 year history, the original orphan train was the creation and life project of the now forgotten man who was to become the father of American child welfare policy. This documentary features interviews with surviving orphan train riders, as well as readings from historical newspapers, letters and journals, and is laced with classical and folk music.

Girls Like UsMarisela and Yadira immigrated illegally to the United States as small children. Marisela, who immigrated when she was 7, remembers crossing over the border while lying in the back of a truck. Yadira, who was 3 when she crossed, remembers nothing of her entry into the U.S. Her first memories are of life in California. After their families moved to Denver, Colorado, the two young women met in middle school. Both went on to become star students in high school – AP classes, top ten percent of their class – and recruiters from Colorado colleges were telling them that they would bend over backwards to snag students like them. But of course they had a big problem, which they were afraid to share: They didn’t have Social Security numbers. This meant that they didn't qualify for any federal aid, or for most private scholarships. “Girls Like Us” is the story of two young girls trying to get into college in a country where they are undocumented.

May 20

The Bonus Army MarchIn 1932, in the depths of the Depression, thousands of hungry and disgruntled veterans of WW I marched on Washington, D.C. demanding that Congress pay them the bonus for their military service that had been promised years before. Banding together, unemployed Oregon cannery workers marched with Pennsylvania coal miners and Alabama cotton pickers, as more than 20 thousand "bonus marchers" participated in the biggest rally to date in the nation's capital. And they stayed for weeks, setting up tent cities, living in cardboard shanties, and shaking the nerves of President Hoover. Find out how they played a role in defeating Hoover in the fall election, and improving the government's treatment of veterans after WW II.

LegaciesSept 11th was a day without parallel. For an older generation that fought and lived through the two world wars, riots, terrorist attacks, the holocaust, the carnage and destruction on the 20th century, it brought back memories. It reminded them not just of war but also the tenacity of the human spirit that enabled them to overcome all odds. Many of them realized that they had to pass on their history of survival and hope to their children and grandchildren. They chose unique and personal ways to tell their story. This is the story of Isadore Scott, Leon Lissek and Ruth LaFevre and their amazing legacies.

May 13

The PeakistFacing the future, with news bulletins full of daily doom and gloom, can be a dispiriting business.
In fact, sometimes it seems easier to turn off the news and do something simple. Something we can control all by ourselves – like going for a walk. Lloyd Morcom knows intuitively that people get sick of too much bad news. But he also feels he must change his life dramatically to survive the challenges of the years ahead, especially the challenges of the global financial crisis, climate change and peak oil.
In ‘The Peakist’ – the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s contribution to the 2009 Global Perspective ‘island’ series, we hear the story of Lloyd, an ex 70’s hippy and former oil man, and how his experiences and the mistakes he made in the past, are helping shape big changes in his life.
While John Donne said that no man is an island, Lloyd Morcom sometimes feels like one. An island in his own community and his own country.
At the height of the global financial crisis Lloyd, with some misgivings (he knows how people feel about bad news) decides to call a public meeting to outline his fears for the future. More importantly he hopes to convince his fellow locals in this small, conservative, rural community in South Gippsland, Victoria to follow his lead and start changing their lives.

The Public Green and the PoorNumerous times in American history, reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature -- the belief being that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently. And it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program, from Producer Richard Paul, looks at a time in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor. It airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

May 6

Life Beyond Death" My son was dead, but six Israelis now have a part of a Palestinian in
them, and maybe he is still alive in them"
These are the words of the Palestinian father Ismail Khatib who donated his son
Ahmed's organs to Israelis after the 12 year old was shot dead by Israeli
soldiers while holding a toy gun.
This remarkable gesture of humanity is not the first time victims of the
conflict have given life to people on the other side of the Arab-Jewish
divide. This year is the 5th anniversary of the death of Yoni Jesner, a
19 year old Jewish religious student murdered in the bombing of a
Tel-Aviv bus. Part of his body went to save the life of a Palestinian
girl from East Jerusalem. Presenter
Vera Frankl of the BBC takes a closer look at the generosity and faith of these
two families - the Jesners and the Khatibs - and we ask if a person can
live on in some way through organ donation - here, in these two stories,
part of a Jew alive in an Arab, and part of an Arab alive in a Jew.

EpiphanyIn this program, producer Richard Paul examines the roots of hatred in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and considers whether people of faith can ever reconcile those divisions. The world’s great monotheistic faiths share centuries-old traditions, but they are also locked in dangerous rivalries that permeate contemporary thought. Through the stories of three men raised to their religion's version of the truth, and distrust of the "other", this program probes that duality and confirms the power of faith to overcome legacies of hostility, illuminating ways that people work beyond hatred and stereotypes.

April 2011

April 29

Survivors(2009)President Obama has declared that “We have banned torture without
exception.” However, some would take exception to this claim. The
practice of isolating a prisoner in solitary confinement for extended periods of time causes severe sensory deprivation and has been denounced as torture by the United Nations. But tens of thousands of inmates are locked up in solitary confinement in American prisons today. And the number is rapidly growing. Often prisoners spend years – even decades – by themselves in a cell the size of a small bathroom. They don't see anyone. They don't talk to anyone. They don't touch anyone. What does this experience do to a person's mental state?
Claire Schoen shows us what solitary confinement looks, sounds and
feels like.

Across The Water: Journey to Robben IslandSouth African President Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison on Robben Island. Now the prison is closed and the island has become a museum, a fast growing tourist attraction in the new South Africa. Former political prisoners work alongside their former jailers as the new keepers of the island's history. It is perhaps one of the most tangible symbols of South Africa's miraculous transformation from apartheid to a multi-party democracy. But what about the personal transformations of those who continue to work on the island? Hear from some of the former prison wardens who continue to live and work there.

April 22

Sam's StorySam was brought to the United States by his parents as a young child, but his family overstayed their visas. Over the past fourteen years, Sam has grown from a small boy to a young man — taught in American schools and churches, he grew up like any other American kid. But when he was asked to fill in his social security number on a financial aid form, he began to realize the consequences of being undocumented.
Long Haul Productions picks up Sam's story as he's graduating from high school in Elkhart, Indiana, and looking to start his first year of college.

Citizenship DiaryHow many stars and how many stripes and what do they mean? You need to know this and many more flag questions to pass the US Naturalization test. Judith Kampfner recorded an audio diary about the process of becoming an American citizen, and about what it was like taking on a second identity. Was it a betrayal of her British roots? Or was it a very logical step to take for someone who thinks of herself as in internationalist? Many more people are becoming dual or multiple citizens today as more countries accept the idea - Mexico, Columbia and the Dominican Republic for instance. Does this dilute the concept of citizenship? Indeed perhaps we are less likely to identify ourselves as citizens today because we are part of a global culture and travel more. Kampfner discovers that going through the paperwork, the test and the ceremony does not help her feel American - that is something she and all the others who are processed have to do for themselves.

April 15

Peanut King's ChildrenMaurice “Peanut” King was a successful drug dealer in East Baltimore and a transitional figure in the drug trade. He bridged the world of the old school gangsters and the kid gangstas of today. He was the first to recruit children to work for him -- ten-, eleven- and twelve-year-olds equipped with mopeds. After the addict gave his money to the “corner man”, one of Peanut’s kids would speed by and toss him the drugs. The kids easily eluded the cops and, if they were caught, didn’t require any outlay in bail or lawyer’s fees. Deborah George tells the story of the Baltimore drug trade 30 years ago, before it was common for children to sell drugs or carry guns.

Learning to Live: James' Story"Learning to Live: James' Story" documents the journey of James Robinson, a 38 year old ex-offender, as he makes the transition from repeated prison sentences to life in the free world. After a 7-year prison term, James arrives at St. Leonard's halfway house for ex-offenders in Chicago. He tells the staff that he needs to "learn to live," knowing full well how hard it is to transition back to society on his own. "James' Story" chronicles James' hard work over the course of ensuing three months; job training, drug counseling and 12-step support meetings. During his stay at the halfway house, James also finds his "dream" job and reconnects with family members, including an eighteen-year-old son he hadn't seen since the child was four.

April 8

The Color of ShakespeareAt countless times in America, and for countless groups of citizens, the question has come up: Who "owns" Shakespeare? Who is it meant for, and to whom does it mean what? This is a particularly poignant question in the case of African-Americans, whom some have sought to exclude from the Bard's work. This story looks at minstrel show parodies of Shakespeare, color-blind casting of Shakespeare, and the African-American experience with Shakespeare. Produced by Richard Paul and narrated by Sam Waterston, The Color of Shakespeare was made possible with support from the Folger Library.

Living History in Colonial WilliamsburgStep back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, following a woman whose job it is to play an 18th slave character in Colonial Williamsburg; a woman who must learn, in 2004, to interpret and recreate 1770 slave culture for a tourist audience. The story is told through this character's own narration and reflection, her interaction with other historical characters and with the tourist public in Williamsburg, and through documentation of her daily tasks. As she steps in and out of character, we discover what it's like to step in and out of history: re-enacting the mundanities and tensions of 18th century life in the fields and kitchens during the day and negotiating a modern 21st century life after visiting hours.

April 1

War and ForgivenessMemorial Day is a day of remembrance of wars won and lost. Often, we think of the battles and the victories. At times, we consider the inevitable war crimes: the massacres, rapes and other atrocities. Rarely do we consider the perspectives of those who are responsible as well as those who are injured. In a special hour long documentary, War and Forgiveness, we present two sides of the equation: the victims and the perpetrators of wartime atrocities. WNYC, RADIO NETHERLANDS, and SOUNDPRINT have collaborated on a two part program that looks at women in Korea who were commandeered to have sex with Japanese soldiers during World War II and Dutch soldiers who carried out a torture campaign in Indonesia. As different as their stories are, they reach the same conclusion: the need for a moral apology from the government.

March 2011

March 25

Who's Got the Dog?Divorce has an immediate impact on family and friends beyond the couple and their children. Marcia Sheinberg of the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy in NY says that the crisis that a divorce creates in the wider network of relationships has been underexplored. It underscores the fact that divorce is more traumatic than we as a society acknowledge. It is not the quick paper solution of a society which discards and moves on all to easily.
The program explores the ripple effects of divorce – how divorce has an impact far beyond the immediate family. In part, this is personal reflection from the producer's own divorce -- Kampfner discovered that there were people who were shocked, in pain and grieving about her family break up and that she felt obligated to console and reassure them. It both made her feel guilty and blessed to know that we are more closely bound to a wide orbit of friends and relatives than we realize. Who’s Got the Dog? will look at how we think we live only in nuclear families, but are actually tied to a community and it often takes a crisis to realize this.

Picture from a late-1990's Halloween in Chicago of Milo the Bee, with Alex as Toto's human and Max as Dogbert's human.

At Home on Cape CodIn AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.

March 18

Tuning into the EnemyBetween the mid seventies and the early nineteen nighties, Paul Erasmus was a secret police official in South Africa. His unit was responsible for what he calls dirty tricks, which included arson, sabotage, theft, discrediting people, illegal phone tapping, and firebombing. Then, before apartheid ended, he went in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to confess to 500 offenses and 80 serious crimes and was granted partial amnesty in 2000.
Paul Erasmus attributes his return of conscience, in part, to the realisation that he had destroyed the career of a musician whose work, talent and passion he grew to admire and love.
Over time, a strange kind of respect and even friendship has developed between Roger Lucey, a political singer, and his former tormentor. Their new relationship is one example of the reconciliation that was part of the political achievement of post apartheid South Africa.

Triads and FilmEnter the Hong Kong Triad "Underworld", where actors, directors, and police describe the Triad control of the film industry in the 1990s when a whole series of murders, beatings and dodgy dealings went down. That's when the Triad techniques of persuasion allegedly came into play - extortion, blackmail, beatings, rape - to get actors and stunt men to appear in their flicks. Eventually the actors had enough and campaigned against the violence. In “Triads and Film”, Producer Sarah Passmore of Radio Television Hong Kong looks at the current situation in the Hong Kong film industry to see the extent to which it may have broken free of these groups, and how much Triads are still involved in the entertainment industry. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

March 11

The Spoken WordJoin us on a journey through the rich tradition of performance poetry, set in Washington DC's famous and eclectic U Street corridor. Our program takes you from memories of the live poetry clubs that emerged there in the 1960's, through the D.C. riots that saw venues closing down and artists scattering to the West Coast, to the modern day renaissance of the spoken word tradition. Our story is narrated by performance poets M'wili Yaw Askari, Toni Ashanti Lightfoot and Matthew Payne.

Going Home to the BluesPeople say going down south is like
going home. Take a trip to the
Mississippi Delta to find the true
meaning of the Blues.
Everyone has hard times throughout
their lives, but does that classify as
the Blues? Producers Askia Muhammed and
Debra Morris search for an answer while
going home.

March 4

Touchstones of RealityHaving a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder isn’t easy for patients, or for their families. In the early days of mental illness, the pressures can tear families apart, and many of them don't know where to turn. As patients and caretakers age, things can get even tougher. While mental health services may provide some support, it's often family members who remain the only "touchstones of reality" for the person suffering with a severe mental illness. Producer Jean Snedegar speaks to several families who face the difficult challenge of supporting their mentally ill family members throughout the course of their lives.

Escape from Time"Lost Time is never found again." Benjamin Franklin wrote that, and producer Barbara Bogaev agrees. She tries daily to reconcile her time, "Barbara Time", with "Clock Time"; at the same time, she dreams of a life WITHOUT time. And really, who wouldn¹t like to escape the relentless march of time?
In that spirit, we consider various routes people take to Escape From Time. A neuroscientist explains the ways in which the brain stretches time in periods of stress and peak performance; a civil war re-enactor immerses himself so convincingly in the past that he achieves the elusive high known as "period rush"; and then we visit the ten thousand year clock -- a project devoted to looking ten thousand years into the future in order to gain perspective on the present.
Escape From Time was produced by Barbara Bogaev, with additional production by Queena Kim. The show was mixed by Jared Weissbrot. “Yew Piney Mountain” was performed by Appalachian Fiddler Lars Prillaman. Special thanks to Wide Awake Films, Alexander Rose of the Long Now Foundation, and Taylor Dupree at 12k for permission to use the song Solang by Sogar, from their album Apikal Blend. This program was produced as part of the international documentary exchange collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

February 2011

February 25

My World: Officer Candidate School In 1965 and 1966, Producer Askia Muhammad was a star-struck and naive college student who had matriculated from Watts to San Jose State University, while getting college deferments to serve two years active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
As Askia began struggles with becoming a Reserve Office Candidate, the country began to struggle with itself with blacks' rights, the hippie movement, the constant protest against the war in Vietnam.
In My World: Officer Candidate School, Askia takes us through his path from faithful Naval Officer to conscientious objector.

Remembering Kent State 1970When thirteen students were shot by Ohio National Guard Troops during a war demonstration on the Kent State University Campus on the first week of May 1970, four young lives were ended and a nation was stunned. More than 30 years later, the world at war is a different place. However, those thirteen seconds in May, 1970 still remain scorched into an Ohio hillside. Through archival tape and interviews, Remembering Kent State tracks the events that led up to the shootings.

February 18

The ClinicSouth Africa’s approach to HIV/AIDS has dramatically changed in recent years. For more than two decades, a combination of government inaction, socio-political conflict, and controversial public health policies led to the situation that South Africa finds itself in today: home to the largest number of people living with HIV. Now the country is trying to make up for lost time, both in prevention and in treatment.

The government has launched an ambitious HIV Counseling and Testing campaign that would include 15 million people by 2011, with the goal of reducing the HIV incidence rate by half. At public health clinics across the country, addressing the science of HIV/AIDS means addressing a litany of social problems, too. Producer Gemma Hooley speaks to scientists, researchers, field workers and patients as South Africa fights to slow the march of the virulent disease. Our program today is called The Clinic.

The photograph of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)was provided with permission from the Nebraska State Museum/ Angie Fox, Ilustrator/ 2005.

World of Viruses:Flu PandemicFrom pig to farm worker and back to pig – that’s the path of the perfect swine flu virus. Likewise, chickens and turkeys, not to mention geese and birds, are hot zones for pandemic flu viruses. In the past, when governments grew concerned about a particular flu, often they will isolate, quarantine or even kill animals that carry a suspect virus. Now animal health and public health authorities are beginning to collaborate on more extensive bio-security. Producer Lakshmi Singh visits farms, fairs and clinics, to find out how surveillance is preparing for the next pandemic.

The illustration, which shows how flu pandemics are spread, is provided with permission from 2006 Albrecht GFX and the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

February 11

Traffic Islands:Dividing LinesTraffic Islands: Dividing Lines
This documentary explores the collective narrative created by people whose lives
intersect in different ways with traffic islands and streetscapes. From a scientist trying to rationalize urban wildlife patterns, to a man who makes a living on the street corner, to people who use the streetscape to
memorialize loved ones: what they have in common is that they map out private parts of their
lives on the public traffic grid. We'll hear about this traffic island life in
stories from the medians, as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives on Islands.

Yellow and BlackTalk about taxis as a guilty pleasure! Whether it's riding in style on the streets of New York (avoiding the hustle, bustle, and pain of the Subway), or zipping across London's spiraling maze of cross-streets (never doubting your intrepid guide's sense of direction), producer Judith Kampfner takes us on a tour of Taxi drivers -- the rough-edged New York City cabbies, and the traditional, vintage hacks of London.

February 4

Hospice Chronicles: Joe and RogerIn 1967, St. Christopher's Hospice – the first modern hospice – opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have chosen hospice at the end of their lives, with many patients choosing to receive care in their homes. In Hospice Chronicles: Joe and Roger, team Long Haul follows Joe, a volunteer trained in "respite care", giving family members a break from caretaking responsibilities. As Joe, a Buddhist, engages Roger, a devout Christian, in discussions of death and (im)mortality, he finds himself exploring death in a way for which training could not have prepared him.

After the ForgettingThis is a story about a Vermont family's experience living with an elderly member's progressive dementia. It is told in a series of interview segments and dinner conversations among the story's three characters, Gregory Sharrow, his husband Bob Hooker, and Greg's mother Marjorie. The story explores the relationship with a son and son-in-law whose names Marjorie can't remember. It addresses the question, what happens to love when there is no more memory? There is no narration in the story. Brooklyn musician Karinne Keithley created music for the story. For more about Karinne Keithley, go to: http://www.fancystitchmachine.org/ Thanks to Rob Rosenthal for his mentorship during the production of this piece.

January 2011

January 28

The Lonely FuneralEvery year up to twenty people die completely alone in Amsterdam. There are no
friends or family to prepare their funeral or mourn over the body. Sometimes these
people are illegal migrants, drug mules, or simply people who for one reason or
another, cut-off all social contacts.
Poet Frank Starik decided that these people also deserved to be eulogized. He
contacted the Amsterdam city services and asked if he could take part in these
forgotten funerals. Producer Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings us the story of the Lonely Funeral. It airs as part of the international collaboration, Global Perspectives: At The Edge.

Death Comes HomeAn intimate emotional portrait of three families who have chosen to fore-go the funeral director and proscribed memorial, and instead care for their dead in their own homes. This is not a story about hospice or green burial; producer April Dembosky introduces us to people taking matters into their own hands: washing and dressing the bodies of their loved ones, building coffins, digging graves, and keeping their loved ones closer to home.

January 21

Time on the Outside: Hope's StoryAbout 2.3 million adults are incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons. That's almost 1% of the adult population, including the parents of over 1.7 million children. William and Candice are two of those children. Their single-parent father is doing time 9 hours away from home, so they've moved in with their grandmother, Hope.
Over the course of a year, two long car trips, multiple moves, and new schools, producer Shannon Heffernan finds out how Hope's family lives while serving Time on the Outside.

Living in LimboAlmost weekly there are stories in the British press about backlogs in the UK asylum system, and the pressure this puts on asylum seekers. No-one in the UK is more marginalised than asylum seekers who have not had their applications accepted, but not been asked to go, sometimes for as long as 8 years. Jenny Cuffe meets Collen, who thinks his 4 years of asylum claims and appeals may be at an end, but is too frightened to return to Zimbabwe, and Thomas, who is from Eritrea, who doesn’t know yet if he can stay in the UK after originally claiming asylum as a teenager 7 years ago. In Living in Limbo, Jenny Cuffe investigates the impact of this long wait on their lives, when you don’t know for so long whether you are staying or going.

January 14

Here and NowNew Zealand is renowned for its sweeping natural landscape, safe, clean-green environment, and ready access to adventure sports and tourism. But how does the landscape influence the character and mentality of those who inhabit it?
With a population of around 4.1 million, at least 1 in 20 young New Zealanders seek opportunities overseas every year to gain experiences that don’t exist back home. Howard Sly was one of those young people who left New Zealand wanting something more. What he would experience was far beyond anything he could ever imagine.
Meanwhile, Cheyne Berry’s love of sports and the outdoors keeps him in New Zealand, but it’s a swim on a summer’s day that brings his life crashing to a halt.
Produced by Sonia Yee of Radio New Zealand as part of our special international collaboration Global Perspectives: At The Edge, Here and Now explores the journeys of two New Zealanders whose carefree Kiwi attitudes lead to life-changing experiences.

At the Edge in SowetoOn the South Western edge of Johannesburg, densely populated Soweto is where Freddy and Sibusiso, both young men in their 20s, live and are looking for work. Unemployment among young people there is over 40%, higher than the national average in South Africa and rising. Hardly surprising then that many of them have become ‘discouraged jobseekers’. They feel that living in Soweto is in itself counted against them.
For SAFM radio station in Johannesburg, presenter Anza Dali, who was brought up in Soweto and is looking for a job too, finds out how Freddy and Sibusiso are coping with long-term unemployment and the constant temptation to make a ‘fast buck’ rather than an honest buck.

January 7

The TravelerThe monarch butterfly is the greatest marathon runner of the insect world. Each year in May hundreds of millions of them take off from their winter quarters in Morelia, Mexico to begin a perilously delicate 3000 mile journey north. With luck, three months later by the human calendar but three generations later in butterfly time, the Monarchs reach northern United States and southern Canada. In late summer their journey begins again, and they arrive back in their winter roosts around the time of the Mexican Day of the Dead in late November. And while the monarch butterfly is beautiful, it is also mysterious. We don't know how the monarchs know where to go. We have no idea how they navigate the annual route along identical flight paths, right down to nesting on the same trees in the same fields year after year. And we don't know how they pass on the knowledge of those routes to the future generations that make the return trip. Producer Chris Brookes takes us on an in-depth journey with the monarch butterfly, and looks at three factors that may be threatening its existence.

The Evolution BoomerangAs humans continue to make their imprint on Earth, they find they are making a noticeable difference in the evolution of different species. The Evolution Boomerang looks at the effect humans are having on insects, fish and certain kinds of bacterium, and how that evolution is in turn affecting humans.

Mummers at the DoorLong before Santa, Bing Crosby and the Mattel Toy Company stole the occasion, even before Christianity itself kidnapped it, the Winter Solstice was celebrated with seasonal ritual. One ancient solstice custom is Mummering. Still practiced annually in many parts of England and Ireland, this great-grand-daddy of Halloween masquerade died out in much of Canada and the United States centuries ago. In North America today it is a popular part of Christmas now only in Newfoundland and Pennsylvania.

On any night during the twelve days of Christmas you may hear a pounding on your door and strange indrawn voices shouting outside: Any mummers allowed? Whether allowed or not, the mummers will tumble in, loud and masked and rowdy and possibly threatening, turning normal household decorum upside down. They may be friends or complete strangers, and unless you can guess their identities you cannot be sure who is behind the mask or whether their intentions are benign. They are certain to track muddy boots across your carpet, play music, demand drink and act outrageously. All over Newfoundland, these rough-and-tumble spirits of the ancient winter solstice have survived despite the religious and commercial hoopla of modern Christmas.

Photos courtesy of Paul Turner

A Little Before 'Tis DayThere is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.

December 24

Feet FirstIn late August of 2009, an arsonist started a fire that burned
more than 160,000 acres in the mountains around Los Angeles County. Known as the Station Fire, it was one
of the largest fires in the community's history. Flames reached reported
lengths of 300 to 400 feet, and it took more than six weeks to fully
contain the blaze. The mountains have long been home to pockets of
residents, from miners to nature lovers, but in recent decades
neighborhoods like La Canada and Flintridge have boomed with large
housing developments. Some residents in the fire zone knew and accepted
the risks of living there, but many had no idea they were living so near
to danger, or thought they could defend their property. Five months after the Station Fire, residents faced massive mudslides as historic storms washed the unanchored earth down the hills and into their homes.
Despite all these troubles, many residents simply won't give up on their properties, and the lifestyle they symbolize. Producer Eve Troeh follows families who evacuate and still return, and the fight they have with public officials who want to shut the neighborhood down.

After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's StoryBorn into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.

December 17

Changing Spaces: Hampden, BaltimoreProducer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community.

The Changing Face of Neighborhood CrimeA look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

December 10

Who needs libraries?As more and more information is available on-line, as Amazon rolls out new software that allows anyone to find any passage in any book, an important question becomes: Who needs libraries anymore? Why does anyone need four walls filled with paper between covers? Surprisingly, they still do and in this program Producer Richard Paul explores why; looking at how university libraries, school libraries and public libraries have adapted to the new information world. This program airs as part of our ongoing series on education and technology, and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education.

Sneak OutIn the 1960's, in California, African American parents set up an elaborate ruse to get their children a better education. Restricted to poor schools in low income East Palo Alto, outside of San Francisco, parents looked across the freeway and devised a way to send their children to wealthy Palo Alto schools. A young mother, barely educated herself, organized the Sneak Out program. Working with white parents, the program was a modern day Underground Railroad. KQED FM's Kathy Baron paints a portrait of conducters and passengers, students and safe houses in the fight to end school segregation.

December 3

Educating EmilyTwelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Teaching: The Next GenerationIn conversations about the use of technology in schools, what you'll often hear is: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom. The program also explores Mr. Mason's approach to teaching by testing his theories about "what works" against the opinions of education experts. Producer Richard Paul brings us "Teaching: The Next Generation." This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

November 2010

November 26

The President's MotherIn 2010 President Barack Obama returned to Indonesia, where he lived for 4 years as a child, and noted how much it had changed. His first experience of that country was when he relocated there with his mother, Ann Dunham, and her second husband. Dunham was an anthropologist, a micro-financier, and an advocate for improving women's lives in developing nations, especially Indonesia. She did this with incredible charm and charisma, qualities some see in the President. Producer Judith Kampfner spoke with Ann's friends and colleagues, along with Obama's half-sister Maya, to learn all about the President's Mother.

Children and GodThe three major monotheistic religions operate from the assumption that: We have the truth, we have a privileged position, we are above others who do not believe as we do, and we are against others who do not believe as we do. This line of thinking creates strong communities of people with deep, abiding faith. But the dark side of these ideas can be seen in Srebrenica, the West Bank and the World Trade Center.
The religious person learns concepts like "God" and "My Religion" at the same time as concepts like "Green" and "Family." By preadolescence, these ideas have been planted quite deeply. This program takes a look at the results by following three 12-year olds - an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim and an Evangelical Christian -- as they pursue their religious education. We hear the songs they sing, the prayers they chant, the lessons they read and how their formal and informal training drives them to believe that, because of their religion, they have a special and exclusive relationship with God.

November 19

Everest and BeyondA tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary. After his memorable conquest of Everest in 1953, this tall, craggy, modest man, added to his worldwide fame with expeditions to remote corners of the world and his activities serving the Sherpa people of Nepal. This New Zealand legend of the 20th century has lived life to the full – surviving personal tragedy as well as achieving historic triumphs and displaying tireless philanthropy. Produced by Jack Perkins of Radio New Zealand, ‘Everest And Beyond’ draws on the recollections of family, friends and colleagues of Sir Edmund Hillary and also uses audio from films shot in Nepal and India by documentary film maker Michael Dillon.

In My Father's DreamsRob Robins has always wanted to learn to fly, but with five kids to feed the former brewery worker’s budget would not stretch to lessons and running up the required number of flying hours to get his private pilot’s license.
Now at 74, and Rob is at last living his dream. He’s learning to fly.
Rob is fit. Until recently he’d regularly cycle up the winding hills that lie alongside his home town of Christchurch, and a few months ago, he walked the tough Milford Track through New Zealand's Southern Mountains. Yet, it’s taken him almost a year to pass the physical tests required before he can start flying lessons.
There’s also another catch - Rob has been deaf since he was five. This means that he has to learn at an airfield that does not have radio controls.
So in mid-March Rob and his wife Glenis, packed up their camper van and headed to an appointment with a vintage Tiger Moth bi-plane and the isolated Mandeville airfield, near Gore
Rob’s son , Julian Robins , goes along with a microphone to observe his father's progress

November 12

IGY:Weather ReportUntil satellites came along, weather forecasting was either very local (it's raining) or very general (it's going to be warmer tomorrow). When satellites started sending pictures of the Earth and its atmosphere, a remarkable meteorologist named Harry Wexler, saw the opportunity for long range, global forecasting. In the late 1950's, as head of the U.S. Weather Bureau and chief U.S. scientist for the International Geophysical Year, Wexler not only had the vision, but the means to carry it out. Producer Barbara Bogaev looks at how Harry Wexler changed meteorology from weather forecasting to global climate research.

Calling Mr. MarconiWhen Guglielmo Marconi installed a receiving station at St. Johns Newfoundland in November 1901 he probably never realized the full impact of his invention. Radio is now as remarkable as wallpaper. The people of St. Johns are determined to celebrate this most ubiquitous of mediums on the 100th anniversary of the transmission of the first signal across the Atlantic. Producer Chris Brookes from Battery Radio captures the town's enthusiasm as they move through the day.

November 5

Life at McMurdoThe science station called McMurdo has been operating on the southern tip of the continent since 1956. It’s an important research center, attracting geologists, physicists, engineers, hydrologists, pilots, and just plain adventure-seekers. McMurdo Station has grown so much, in fact, that it’s really a town unto itself. It’s got a harbor, three airfields, a heliport, over a hundred buildings, and a bowling alley. After all, if people are going to work in such a bleak outpost, they need some recreation!
About a thousand people work at McMurdo in the summer -- 200 in the dead of winter -- and the scientists depend on the non-scientists to keep the place humming.
SOUNDPRINT went to McMurdo as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration Pole to Pole to cover a scientific project. While we were there, we met the diverse and colorful group of people who constitute LIFE AT MCMURDO.

GibtownGibsonton, Florida is the retirement and off-season home for hundreds of carnival and circus show people. Called "Gibtown" by many of its residents, the town was at one time considered the oddest place is America. You could walk into any restaurant and find The World's Only Living Half Girl sipping coffee with her 8 foot 4 inch husband, Giant Al. They, along with The Lobster Man, Alligator Skin Man and the Monkey Girl, among others, made their living touring with carnival sideshows. The sideshows are mostly gone. We take a look back at sideshows through the lens of Gibtown.

October 2010

October 29

IGY: On The Ice “Could anything be more terrible than this silent, wind-swept immensity?” That’s a diary entry written by explorer Robert Falcon Scott, on his journey to Antarctica in 1905. It was, in the end, a disastrous journey. Scott wasn’t properly prepared. He had hauled along tractors, ponies, and even hay to feed the ponies, onto the ice. 50 years after Scott’s expedition, another group of explorers, much better prepared, also took a journey to Antarctica as part of a global scientific effort to investigate the continent, called the IGY -- the International Geophysical Year.
Producer Barbara Bogaev takes a look at what it was like for those men to live and work on Scott’s “silent, windswept immensity”. Their discoveries lay the basis for what we now understand about the geology, geography and even ice of the Antarctic region.

Southern Ocean VoyageAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Margot Foster takes us on a voyage aboard the Aurora Australis, Australia's research vessel. The 7-week trip into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica lets scientists sample plants, animals, and ocean water quality and composition, in an attempt to uncover how climate change is affecting, and will be affected by, the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Producer Sarah Castor-Perry talks to scientists after the trip, to try to decipher the data they collected.

October 22

Hags and NightmaresIt's the middle of the night. You wake up with a start. There's a presence in the room watching you. You sense that it is evil. But you are paralyzed and powerless. It's your worst nightmare, or is it? This program looks at a strangely common condition called sleep paralysis in which people are dreaming while they are awake and are unable to move. Psychologist Al Cheyne explores what happens to the body during these episodes and tries to explain why the experience is so terrifying. Sleep paralysis appears to be the source of some of our most terrifying myths and legends, and it has inspired artists through the ages. Hags and Nightmares was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Halloween: The Time Between Put on your scariest costume and go trick-or-treating again in this portrait of the personal--and cultural--meanings of Halloween.
Derived from ancient beliefs about the the dangers of times of transition--the end of October marks the time between the summer and winter seasons,between earth's time of life and death--and this is the theme of the holiday.
Incorporating Celtic rituals with Catholic ones, involving the dead coming back to possess the spirit of the living, and the living trying to hide or scare the spirits away, the modern American holiday has developed its own set of strange rituals. Hear a myriad of voices tell about their memories of Halloween--the tricks, but especially the treats.

October 15

Treasure on EarthGhana’s charismatic church offers material wealth to its believers. This troubles Kofi Owusu of Joy FM, who while a committed believer in the church, is uncomfortable with the requests for the congregation to make offerings. What is preached is Prosperity Gospel is God will make you rich, but first you must give generously to your church.
Some of the pastors in Ghana’s charismatic church are very wealthy. So what is going on here? Is there any control of how the pastor spends the money given to his church? Kofi seeks to learn why the church is emphasising material gain rather than spiritual growth.
The resulting program is ‘Treasure on Earth’. This program was produced by Joy FM Ghana and is a part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

Feminism and the VeilDoes the act of a Muslim woman wearing the veil affect how she is perceived as well as her family? Does modern feminism and the practice of wearing the hijab conflict with one another? Producer Safaa Faisal returns to her home country, Egypt, to find out why so many women are taking up the veil.

October 8

HPV - the Shy VirusThe Human Papillomavirus - or HPV - is a common virus that touches billions of human beings in one way or another - from a tiny wart on the hand to invasive cancer. HPV is a major health threat worldwide, yet mostly harmless. The virus can "hide" for years from a person's immune system - with no apparent ill effects - then awaken and create deadly disease. This is the story of a virus that often doesn't act as scientists expect it to - a puzzling, paradoxical virus. HPV, the Shy Virus is part of the series "World of Viruses".

The photograph showing the structure of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is provided with permission by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2009.

Beyond the MirrorA recent decision in the UK allowed the world’s first full facial transplants. The BBC's Kati Whitaker talks to three people about the impact of severe facial disfigurement and discovers what beliefs have helped them through their despair.
The face is our first point of contact with the world. But what happens if you lose your face to injury or disease?
Simon Weston suffered from burns in the Falklands war; Michele Simms had her face destroyed by a firework, and Diana Whybrew had half her face removed with a malignant tumor. Their belief in themselves has been challenged to its limits – down to a sense of who they are. This program was produced by the BBC World Service as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

October 1

FatwasWhen Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989
calling for his death, the fatwa became synonymous in the West with
extremism and intolerance. And yet for Muslims the fatwa is the bridge
between the principles of their faith and modern life. Thousands of fatwas
are issued every month in Egypt by religious leaders dealing with
everything from divorce to buying a car on an instalment plan to
breast-feeding in public. Presenter Eva Dadrian investigates how fatwas are
helping Muslims negotiate their faith in their daily lives. Produced by Katy Hickman of the BBC. This program airs as part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Durga's CourtIt's on the verandah of a house in a remote village in West Bengal, India, where one court's sessions are held. Each litigating party comes with a group of supporters who try to outshout each other, and the judge – untrained in formal law – makes her rulings by a potent alchemy of mythology, common sense, a flamboyant personality and a very loud voice. Shabnam Ramaswamy is the only hope for hundreds of people who are too poor to grease palms to make India’s judiciary or police work for them and her court is often the only shot these people have at justice. In Durga’s Court, Dheera Sujan visits what must be one of the more unusual courts of justice in the world. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 2010

September 24

Ode to JosephineJosephine Fernandez was Dheera Sujan's 20-something, bow-legged, horsey faced Goan ayah, or nanny. She was about five and her sister two years younger when Josie came into their lives. She stayed with them until they immigrated to Australia a few years later. When they left India for good to start a new life, it was Josie whom they missed more than anything else they'd left behind. This program comes to us from Radio Netherlands and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Upright GrandA document of the poignant moment in the life of
Producer Tim Wilson's own mother, a daunting figure and
a once-accomplished pianist, now diagnosed with
Alzheimer's, when she is forced to leave her
apartment, her pearls, and her 'upright grand' to
enter 'a home.' Upright Grand turns into a
searching examination of the often ambiguous
relationship between a mother and son.

September 17

The BattlersThis documentary takes us deep into the experience of Australia's urban poor. We accompany the volunteers of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, past the million dollar real estate, the mansions, swimming pools and harbor views of Sydney's eastern suburbs, into the homes and lives of the real battlers - people unable to afford to keep a roof over their heads, or feed and clothe their children. This program comes to us from Producer Sharon Davis of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Our Daily BreadAn aural picture of a Baltimore neighborhood soup kitchen created through the stories of the lives of several regular customers. We are surrounded by the sounds of the streets that are their homes, and we share a sense of hope, despite the empty routine of merely getting through another day with a stop at the soup kitchen.

September 10

The Lonely FuneralEvery year up to twenty people die completely alone in Amsterdam. There are no
friends or family to prepare their funeral or mourn over the body. Sometimes these
people are illegal migrants, drug mules, or simply people who for one reason or
another, cut-off all social contacts.
Poet Frank Starik decided that these people also deserved to be eulogized. He
contacted the Amsterdam city services and asked if he could take part in these
forgotten funerals. Producer Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings us the story of the Lonely Funeral. It airs as part of the international collaboration, Global Perspectives: At The Edge.

LonghairLeung Kwok Hung, or “Longhair” as he is better known, has been an active Marxist for forty years. His political activism has led him to be jailed on several occasions and yet in recent years he’s found enough support in traditionally conservative Hong Kong to have been elected as Legislator, not just once but twice, the second time increasing his votes. His headline grabbing antics, such as throwing bananas and breaking rice bowls in the Legislative Council, are both frowned upon and cheered by the public and his uncompromising stance on everything, from what he wears (Che Guevara t-shirts) to what he believes, is very far from the norm for a Hong Kong politician, yet not only does his popularity grow, but his campaigns are slowly but surely making a difference. In “Longhair” Radio Television Hong Kong’s Sarah Passmore finds out more about the man who has won the hearts of Hong Kong.

September 3

Middle CTristan Whiston performed for the first time as a solo soprano at the tender age of six. Years of hard work led to an accomplished singing career. But two years ago, Tristan decided to give up the most precious thing a singer has - the voice. As part of our Global Perspective Series At The Edge, CBC producer Carma Jolly brings us Tristan's audio diary of the transition from female to male.

Here and NowNew Zealand is renowned for its sweeping natural landscape, safe, clean-green environment, and ready access to adventure sports and tourism. But how does the landscape influence the character and mentality of those who inhabit it?
With a population of around 4.1 million, at least 1 in 20 young New Zealanders seek opportunities overseas every year to gain experiences that don’t exist back home. Howard Sly was one of those young people who left New Zealand wanting something more. What he would experience was far beyond anything he could ever imagine.
Meanwhile, Cheyne Berry’s love of sports and the outdoors keeps him in New Zealand, but it’s a swim on a summer’s day that brings his life crashing to a halt.
Produced by Sonia Yee of Radio New Zealand as part of our special international collaboration Global Perspectives: At The Edge, Here and Now explores the journeys of two New Zealanders whose carefree Kiwi attitudes lead to life-changing experiences.

August 2010

August 27

Living in LimboAlmost weekly there are stories in the British press about backlogs in the UK asylum system, and the pressure this puts on asylum seekers. No-one in the UK is more marginalised than asylum seekers who have not had their applications accepted, but not been asked to go, sometimes for as long as 8 years. Jenny Cuffe meets Collen, who thinks his 4 years of asylum claims and appeals may be at an end, but is too frightened to return to Zimbabwe, and Thomas, who is from Eritrea, who doesn’t know yet if he can stay in the UK after originally claiming asylum as a teenager 7 years ago. In Living in Limbo, Jenny Cuffe investigates the impact of this long wait on their lives, when you don’t know for so long whether you are staying or going.

At the Edge in SowetoOn the South Western edge of Johannesburg, densely populated Soweto is where Freddy and Sibusiso, both young men in their 20s, live and are looking for work. Unemployment among young people there is over 40%, higher than the national average in South Africa and rising. Hardly surprising then that many of them have become ‘discouraged jobseekers’. They feel that living in Soweto is in itself counted against them.
For SAFM radio station in Johannesburg, presenter Anza Dali, who was brought up in Soweto and is looking for a job too, finds out how Freddy and Sibusiso are coping with long-term unemployment and the constant temptation to make a ‘fast buck’ rather than an honest buck.

August 20

Feet FirstIn late August of 2009, an arsonist started a fire that burned
more than 160,000 acres in the mountains around Los Angeles County. Known as the Station Fire, it was one
of the largest fires in the community's history. Flames reached reported
lengths of 300 to 400 feet, and it took more than six weeks to fully
contain the blaze. The mountains have long been home to pockets of
residents, from miners to nature lovers, but in recent decades
neighborhoods like La Canada and Flintridge have boomed with large
housing developments. Some residents in the fire zone knew and accepted
the risks of living there, but many had no idea they were living so near
to danger, or thought they could defend their property. Five months after the Station Fire, residents faced massive mudslides as historic storms washed the unanchored earth down the hills and into their homes.
Despite all these troubles, many residents simply won't give up on their properties, and the lifestyle they symbolize. Producer Eve Troeh follows families who evacuate and still return, and the fight they have with public officials who want to shut the neighborhood down.

Wedge IslandA few hundred kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia...on a rugged and secluded stretch of coastline...is perched a settlement that time forgot. Its shacks are delightfully ramshackle; makeshift creations fashioned out of corrugated iron and furnished with mismatched hand-me-downs. There’s no electricity, no running water, and, until recently, it was accessible only by 4WD. It’s a holiday in the finest of Australian beach shack traditions.
But it’s all about to end. Put bluntly, the residents of Wedge Island are squatters. And now, despite lifeline after lifeline, the state’s biggest shack community is about to become victim to the government’s squatter removal policy that has already seen more than 600 shacks demolished.
But the shackies are shaping up for the fight of their lives. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Kirsti Melville took the long and bumpy trek north to Wedge Island.

August 13

Paris: Heat WaveIn August 2003, European suffered the worst heat wave in at least 500 years. Many weather records were set that month. Great Britain reported its hottest day ever. Forest fires raged in much of southern Europe, themselves causing deaths. Crops withered and trees died.
One of the cities hit hardest was Paris. Although the high heat started in early August, it was nearly mid-month, after hundreds of people had been killed, before the French government realized that the heat wave had turned deadly in Paris.
Before the heat wave was over, the city’s morgues had to requisition refrigerator trucks just to hold the excessive number of dead bodies. More than 1,000 Parisians had died of dehydration, heat stroke and other ailments caused by high heat, a disproportionate fraction of which were single, elderly women. Producer Dan Grossman tells us the story of the Paris Heat Wave, and the signs that other parts of the world, including parts of the U.S. Midwest, could soon face significantly increased climate extremes.

Cities of the PlainUrban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

August 6

The Urban Forest Healing CenterFrom the time he wrote ‘Walden – Life in the Woods’ philosopher Henry David Thoreau understood the restorative value of trees to the human soul. More than 100 years later researchers are discovering that a pleasurable walk among trees and green space can calm an active child, refresh a tired mind, and make all of us feel better. The view of a tree outside a window can make an office worker more productive, a hospital stay shorter, or a prison sentence more bearable. Even in the most deprived inner city, trees and green space around buildings reduce crime and violence as well as promote a sense of community and well-being. In our series, Tales from Urban Forests, Jean Snedegar explores the power of trees to restore us, body and mind.

Watershed 263In urban areas across the country, trees and grass have been replaced with pavement and concrete. Storm water runoff from these paved surfaces in cities can be saturated with harmful substances such as gasoline, oil and trash. We head to the inner city of Baltimore where partners have joined forces to clean up the runoff flowing into the harbor and into the Chesapeake Bay, and at the same time to improve the quality of life for the residents living there.

July 2010

July 30

Climate Change CollegeIn Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the U.S., a group of people are learning firsthand about climate change. They are face to face with it. Some of them live there. Some are only visiting, and hoping to take their newfound knowledge back to the countries from which they came. They see climate change as a big problem, but not an intractable one.
Radio Deutsche-Welle Producer Irene Quaille visited their Climate Change College as part of Pole to Pole, our international media celebration of the International Polar Year.

Fire and IceThe Eskimos in Alaska have a legend that they call "The year of no summer". One year, summer never came, winter just continued. No one could fish or hunt. And nothing could grow. The story is a creation myth. A few survivors were left to form what is now the Kauwerak tribe. Scientists are now looking at the legend as another piece of evidence for what they believe was a major climate shift in the Northern Hemisphere. Producer Dan Grossman takes on a journey to discover the truth behind the legend.

This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance. Click on the following link to find out more.
Global Perspective

July 23

MeltdownMoving at glacier pace once meant to move hardly at all. No longer. Scientists in Greenland and in Peru are watching glaciers rapidly move forward or retreat, and even disappear at historic rates. Producer Dan Grossman follows several teams as they record the meltdown of some of the world's largestt glaciers.

When the Snow Melts on SvalbardSnowy peaks, untouched wilderness as far as the eye can see -- the Svalbard archipelago, at 79° North, is a focal point of the world's Arctic research. Polar regions play a key role in regulating our climate. The are also the most sensitive to change. Just 750 miles from the North Pole, scientists from all over the world monitor what's happening to our climate and how changes affect life on our planet. Join Radio Deutsche-Welle producer Irene Quaile, as she tours Koldewey Station in the Svalbard archipelago as part of Pole to Pole, an international media celebration of the International Polar Year, produced with support from the National Science Foundation.

July 16

Mixed BlessingsElsie Tu came to Hong Kong from Britain in the 1950s as a married missionary. She fell in love with one of her Chinese converts, controversially divorced her husband and married her Chinese love. She later became a very vocal activist in Hong Kong politics, and wrote a book about her relationship called "Shouting at the Mountain".
In Mixed Blessings, Producers Sarah Passmore and Clarence Yang from Radio Television Hong Kong compare Elsie's experiences with modern East/West relationships, and they take a look at why, in the 21st century, Asian men marrying Western women is still relatively rare. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

The United States of DatingA producer's quest for real stories of how people meet each other in the current dating environment, and how they negotiate their dating
relationships. Along the way, we'll hear from matchmakers, relationship experts and common-or-garden daters. We'll explore how the written word still rules romance and dating etiquette -- from staccato text-message shorthand to classified ads, postcards and email. We'll meet the Dating Coach who advises clients on putting their best face forward; New York City's own cupid cab driver who tries his hand at amateur matchmaking in Manhattan gridlock; a political activist who runs a booming online dating
service for like-minded lefties (motto: "take action, get action"); and a woman who blogs her private dating activities in a public online diary...
with some surprising results. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

July 9

Bean JumpingThis is the story of the immigration experience of two
sister communities: one in the Ecuadorian Mountains, and the other in Suffolk County, on Long Island in New York. A 2008 hate-crime killing brought to light a pattern of abuse, persecution, and violence that shocked the residents of Patchogue, a quiet coastal suburban "Anytown, USA" -- but maybe didn't shock the residents of the community in the shadows, or their family members 3000 miles away. Producer Charles Lane reported on and covered the local story, and now brings us the international story. He found that the meaning of "American Dream" might be changing, and he discovered a Latino Dream.

Running with AtalantaTen years ago, two young women were studying law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte – a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam.
The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare – a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man.
Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

July 2

The Busker and the DivaMargaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano".
While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated.
Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives.

Kinshasa StoryHead off to one of the great music capitals of the world, Kinshasa, on the banks of the mighty Congo River in Central West Africa. This Kinshasa Story is all about music and music makers - from well established stars, to hopeful wannabes with nothing more than a set of empty cans as drums. Our guide is Melbourne musician and some time disc jockey, Miriam Abud. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

June 2010

June 25

Vietnam BluesVince Gabriel is a Maine-based blues musician who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience in the Vietnam War. In this program, Vince takes listeners chronologically through his time in Vietnam, with his music leading us into stories about getting drafted, arriving in the jungle, what combat was like, the loss of his closest friend, the relief of finally returning home, and his reflections on the legacy of Vietnam today. Vince's stories give listeners an almost visceral sense of what it's like for those on the front lines. Though it is an account of a war that took place years ago, Vince's observations feel disturbingly immediate and poignant. Producer Christina Antolini brings us the "Vietnam Blues."

D-Day DiariesJune 6th, 1944 dawned unlike any other day in history. Three million Allied soldiers prepared for months to cross the English Channel and liberate Europe. All along the coast of Normandy machine guns, mines, booby traps and obstacles awaited the invading army. Thousands lost
their lives that day. Many more were wounded. The story of D-Day is best
told in the words of the soldiers who lived through the landing, words
gathered from letters, books and diaries. These are their memories.

June 18

LonghairLeung Kwok Hung, or “Longhair” as he is better known, has been an active Marxist for forty years. His political activism has led him to be jailed on several occasions and yet in recent years he’s found enough support in traditionally conservative Hong Kong to have been elected as Legislator, not just once but twice, the second time increasing his votes. His headline grabbing antics, such as throwing bananas and breaking rice bowls in the Legislative Council, are both frowned upon and cheered by the public and his uncompromising stance on everything, from what he wears (Che Guevara t-shirts) to what he believes, is very far from the norm for a Hong Kong politician, yet not only does his popularity grow, but his campaigns are slowly but surely making a difference. In “Longhair” Radio Television Hong Kong’s Sarah Passmore finds out more about the man who has won the hearts of Hong Kong.

Keysville, GA: Old Dreams, New SouthOn January 4, 1988, 63-year-old Emma Gresham
became the first black mayor - the first
mayor in half a century- of Keysville, Georgia.
She won the election over her opponent by 10
votes. In the town courthouse, on a trailer
mounted on cinderblocks, a banner reads:
Justice Knows No Boundaries. It's a constant
reminder of both the town's troubled history
and the dreams the mayor has for the town.
In this small, mostly black, southern town,
Emma Gresham employed education, patience,
and political action, along with her famous
biscuits, to realize her dream of a better
life for her constituents. Producer Dan Collison
takes us to Keysville for a look at the struggle
for survival in the town that time forgot.

June 11

Birthday SuitJanet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country.
Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped.
Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time?

The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment".
I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections.

Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less?
And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm?
And then how hygenic really are these places?
At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule.
And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen.
It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic.
Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'?

Summer TriptychSummer afternoon. The two most beautiful words in the English language, according to Henry James. While away the afternoon at a ballgame. Take your kid to the state fair. Go for a ride on a Ferris wheel. It's the one time of year when nature sets out to amuse us. Of course, it's an illusion. You need only be stuck behind a desk and looking out the office window to get a reality check. But if summer is an illusion, at least it's a grand illusion, and well worth the trouble. Producers David Isay, Dan Collison, and Neenah Ellis take us back stage behind the sets, props, facades, carnivals, games and country fairs. We're going to meet the technicians of summer, the people who work to make it happen.

June 4

Every Tree Tells A StoryUrban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park.

The Music Boat ManReinier Sijpkens travels around the world making magic and music for children. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, trumpet and conch. Producer Dheera Sujan meets with this illusive magical character who says his day job is "developing his soul."

May 2010

May 28

FatwasWhen Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989
calling for his death, the fatwa became synonymous in the West with
extremism and intolerance. And yet for Muslims the fatwa is the bridge
between the principles of their faith and modern life. Thousands of fatwas
are issued every month in Egypt by religious leaders dealing with
everything from divorce to buying a car on an instalment plan to
breast-feeding in public. Presenter Eva Dadrian investigates how fatwas are
helping Muslims negotiate their faith in their daily lives. Produced by Katy Hickman of the BBC. This program airs as part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Durga's CourtIt's on the verandah of a house in a remote village in West Bengal, India, where one court's sessions are held. Each litigating party comes with a group of supporters who try to outshout each other, and the judge – untrained in formal law – makes her rulings by a potent alchemy of mythology, common sense, a flamboyant personality and a very loud voice. Shabnam Ramaswamy is the only hope for hundreds of people who are too poor to grease palms to make India’s judiciary or police work for them and her court is often the only shot these people have at justice. In Durga’s Court, Dheera Sujan visits what must be one of the more unusual courts of justice in the world. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

May 21

Gut ReactionThere is a disease you've probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn't know. Doctors now believe that one in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only one in 4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac Disease is an intestinal disorder where, when you eat wheat, barley or rye, your immune system attacks the food as if it were a virus. The results are devastating and painful. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only two or three years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors. Producer Richard Paul presents the story of how Celiac Disease played itself out in the lives of 10 people.

Sunshine and DarknessXeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic mutation with a number of implications. It can be life threatening. It diminishes the body's resistance to UV waves. People with XP can't tolerate sunlight. The older they get, the worse the problem becomes. People with XP have to be completely covered up before they go out, and even inside they live with curtains drawn. The disorder also creates a bubble around the person with XP, their family and friends. Often isolated, even in school, their connection to the world is tenuous.
Today, that isolation is breaking down. Producer Marti Covington reports on how schools, families and technology are helping people with this rare disorder (only 125 people in the United States have it) connect with the world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

May 14

Remains of the Sword: Armenian OrphansNinety years ago, up to 1.5 million Armenians were deported and died at the hands of the Ottoman rulers of Turkey. But it is believed that Turkish families saved thousands of orphaned Armenian children secretly. Some children who had been adopted were then forcibly taken away from their Turkish families by foreign troops and sent to orphanages in Europe. Until now, the very existence of the children has remained largely an untold story, buried along with those who died between 1915 and 1916. But their family members are slowly uncovering the stories of those Armenian orphans. The issue still remains extremely contentious, and the story of Armenian orphans is now becoming one of most sensitive and emotionally charged issues in Turkish society. Producer Dorian Jones exposes how descendants of Armenian orphans are discovering their family histories.

The Long Road HomeWith no choice other than to leave their home, Chandra and Roy fled to India from Pakistan. They left behind their friends, jobs, and their house. Living in India for the past decade, producer Shivani Sharma takes them back to Pakistan to see if there's anything left coming home to.

May 7

Wedge IslandA few hundred kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia...on a rugged and secluded stretch of coastline...is perched a settlement that time forgot. Its shacks are delightfully ramshackle; makeshift creations fashioned out of corrugated iron and furnished with mismatched hand-me-downs. There’s no electricity, no running water, and, until recently, it was accessible only by 4WD. It’s a holiday in the finest of Australian beach shack traditions.
But it’s all about to end. Put bluntly, the residents of Wedge Island are squatters. And now, despite lifeline after lifeline, the state’s biggest shack community is about to become victim to the government’s squatter removal policy that has already seen more than 600 shacks demolished.
But the shackies are shaping up for the fight of their lives. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Kirsti Melville took the long and bumpy trek north to Wedge Island.

Escape To New ZealandWarnings of global warming and climate instability are widespread in 2008.
Issues relating to the human influences on the global climate and the imminent likelihood of rising sea levels, the death of ancient forests, droughts, widespread agricultural failure, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the West Antarctic have set many on a path to find ways to escape these changes.
For some, the dire planetary predictions have influenced them to become active environmental refugees, seeking a home on some part of the planet where the global changes can, perhaps, be weathered.
In Escape to New Zealand, Radio NZ's Halina Ogonowska-Coates talks to four environmental refugees about their experiences in dealing with the issues facing our planet. This program airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

April 2010

April 30

The Intriguing ThereminPeople fainted when the Theremin was first performed onstage in Paris in 1928. Its haunting sound resembled voices from beyond the grave. It was the first electronic instrument, and at that time, the only one which is played without actually touching it. Its ingenious maker, the charismatic Russian Leon Theremin, was in many ways as mysterious as his invention. Producer Michele Ernsting from Radio Netherlands brings us The Intriguing Theremin. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Van Gogh and GauguinVincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of the late 19th century. A brief but intense collaboration occurred between the two artists. They met in Paris in the autumn of 1887. Each man tried to learn from the other and admired the other's work. Their collaboration was marked at first by mutual support and dialogue, but there was also competition and friction. The men differed sharply in their views on art: Gauguin favored working from memory and allowing abstract mental processes to shape his images, while Vincent held an unshakeable reverence for the physical reality of the observable world of models and Nature. This is reflected in the very different techniques each artist used. But toward the end of 1888, a series of violent incidents around Christmas Eve brought a dramatic end to their collaboration. This is the story of their personal and professional relationship.

April 23

Living in LimboAlmost weekly there are stories in the British press about backlogs in the UK asylum system, and the pressure this puts on asylum seekers. No-one in the UK is more marginalised than asylum seekers who have not had their applications accepted, but not been asked to go, sometimes for as long as 8 years. Jenny Cuffe meets Collen, who thinks his 4 years of asylum claims and appeals may be at an end, but is too frightened to return to Zimbabwe, and Thomas, who is from Eritrea, who doesn’t know yet if he can stay in the UK after originally claiming asylum as a teenager 7 years ago. In Living in Limbo, Jenny Cuffe investigates the impact of this long wait on their lives, when you don’t know for so long whether you are staying or going.

The Grass is GreenerGhana is an African country that is comparatively stable politically and economically, and yet large numbers of the population want to escape overseas to where they think ‘The Grass is Greener’. Ghanaians come back from working overseas and build grand houses and flaunt their wealth with new cars and the latest mobile phones, which makes the poor Ghanaians at home long to get a slice of a better paid job than they can hope for at home.
Presenter Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, of Joy FM radio station in Accra, has had his own taste of study and menial work in the UK, and is now content to be back in Ghana. But he meets young people who are still desperate to travel outside the country. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration, Global Perspectives:Escape.

April 16

Here and NowNew Zealand is renowned for its sweeping natural landscape, safe, clean-green environment, and ready access to adventure sports and tourism. But how does the landscape influence the character and mentality of those who inhabit it?
With a population of around 4.1 million, at least 1 in 20 young New Zealanders seek opportunities overseas every year to gain experiences that don’t exist back home. Howard Sly was one of those young people who left New Zealand wanting something more. What he would experience was far beyond anything he could ever imagine.
Meanwhile, Cheyne Berry’s love of sports and the outdoors keeps him in New Zealand, but it’s a swim on a summer’s day that brings his life crashing to a halt.
Produced by Sonia Yee of Radio New Zealand as part of our special international collaboration Global Perspectives: At The Edge, Here and Now explores the journeys of two New Zealanders whose carefree Kiwi attitudes lead to life-changing experiences.

SurvivorIn 1942 a US Navy destroyer was shipwrecked off Newfoundland. Of the few who survived, one man, Lanier Phillips, was black. The rescuers, never having seen a black man before, tried to scrub his skin clean and white. This is a story about growing up with fear in segregated Georgia, enlisting in a segregated navy, facing death in the icy North Atlantic, and a rescue which galvanized a man to fight racial discrimination.

April 9

At the Edge in SowetoOn the South Western edge of Johannesburg, densely populated Soweto is where Freddy and Sibusiso, both young men in their 20s, live and are looking for work. Unemployment among young people there is over 40%, higher than the national average in South Africa and rising. Hardly surprising then that many of them have become ‘discouraged jobseekers’. They feel that living in Soweto is in itself counted against them.
For SAFM radio station in Johannesburg, presenter Anza Dali, who was brought up in Soweto and is looking for a job too, finds out how Freddy and Sibusiso are coping with long-term unemployment and the constant temptation to make a ‘fast buck’ rather than an honest buck.

Lost in AmericaFour people living on the edge--drug addicts, a prostitute and a blind woman--recount their journeys to a new life, revealing the connections between home and homelessness along the way. Producer Helen Borten brings us "Lost in America." This program won an EMMA award from the National Women's Political Caucus for Best Radio Documentary.

April 2

Survivors(2009)President Obama has declared that “We have banned torture without
exception.” However, some would take exception to this claim. The
practice of isolating a prisoner in solitary confinement for extended periods of time causes severe sensory deprivation and has been denounced as torture by the United Nations. But tens of thousands of inmates are locked up in solitary confinement in American prisons today. And the number is rapidly growing. Often prisoners spend years – even decades – by themselves in a cell the size of a small bathroom. They don't see anyone. They don't talk to anyone. They don't touch anyone. What does this experience do to a person's mental state?
Claire Schoen shows us what solitary confinement looks, sounds and
feels like.

The Convict StreakBernie Matthews was a ‘serial escapee’ - the thought of incarceration too much to bear. Yet every time he escaped (6 in all), his sentence (for armed robbery) was extended, and the punishment made more severe. Until he escaped through the pen.
Bernie likens himself to the convict George Howe – one of the thousands of criminals transported to New South Wales between 1819 and 1848. ‘Happy George’, with no formal eduction became the first editor of The Sydney Gazette.
But these two men are the exceptions of their times. The life of a convict in early C19 Australia was gruelling and desperate, as it is for those incarcerated today. Punishment for Escaping included solitary confinement and being sent to the harshest of prison environments –Van Diemen’s land then and the Super max prisons now. Yet some still managed to get away…
The Convict Streak was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as part of the 2008 international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

March 2010

March 26

Feet FirstIn late August of 2009, an arsonist started a fire that burned
more than 160,000 acres in the mountains around Los Angeles County. Known as the Station Fire, it was one
of the largest fires in the community's history. Flames reached reported
lengths of 300 to 400 feet, and it took more than six weeks to fully
contain the blaze. The mountains have long been home to pockets of
residents, from miners to nature lovers, but in recent decades
neighborhoods like La Canada and Flintridge have boomed with large
housing developments. Some residents in the fire zone knew and accepted
the risks of living there, but many had no idea they were living so near
to danger, or thought they could defend their property. Five months after the Station Fire, residents faced massive mudslides as historic storms washed the unanchored earth down the hills and into their homes.
Despite all these troubles, many residents simply won't give up on their properties, and the lifestyle they symbolize. Producer Eve Troeh follows families who evacuate and still return, and the fight they have with public officials who want to shut the neighborhood down.

After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's StoryBorn into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.

March 19

Chung King Mansions: a Work in ProgressHong Kong’s Chung King Mansions is an infamous tenament building, which has a colourful past, present and who knows what future. Built as residential flats in the early 60s, these days it is a haven for immigrants, refugees, travellers and anyone else who needs a cheap place to stay.
It is an extraordinary place and stands out as a rather shabby island in its more luxurious surroundings. With a thousand owners and bad past management it has been almost impossible to ever get consensus on what to do with it. Meanwhile it thrives as a business community, appears to be self-sufficient and it is an international melting pot somewhat a law unto itself.
But change is afoot with two determined managers trying to tame this apparently unmanageable building and community and its reputation growing as an international business hub.
“In Chung King Mansions: A Work in Progress” RTHK’s Sarah Passmore takes a step inside. This program airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives on Islands.

Little Fish in a Multiculti PondNot very far from Amsterdam is a neighborhood called the Baarsjes, or
“little fish”. The area covers less than one square mile, and houses 35,000 residents from 126 countries.
Such multicultural diversity in such a small area has not been without
serious problems. Controversy and discrimination are not uncommon in the area. The most recent debate surrounds plans to build a new Turkish mosque.
But residents believe they can make a difference by taking initiatives to bring these diverse communities together - through meetings, sport and cultural events. Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands takes to the streets of his neighborhood to find out just how much is changing for the “Little Fish in a Multiculti Pond.” This program was produced by Radio Netherlands Worldwide as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

March 12

The Lonely FuneralEvery year up to twenty people die completely alone in Amsterdam. There are no
friends or family to prepare their funeral or mourn over the body. Sometimes these
people are illegal migrants, drug mules, or simply people who for one reason or
another, cut-off all social contacts.
Poet Frank Starik decided that these people also deserved to be eulogized. He
contacted the Amsterdam city services and asked if he could take part in these
forgotten funerals. Producer Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings us the story of the Lonely Funeral. It airs as part of the international collaboration, Global Perspectives: At The Edge.

Death Comes HomeAn intimate emotional portrait of three families who have chosen to fore-go the funeral director and proscribed memorial, and instead care for their dead in their own homes. This is not a story about hospice or green burial; producer April Dembosky introduces us to people taking matters into their own hands: washing and dressing the bodies of their loved ones, building coffins, digging graves, and keeping their loved ones closer to home.

March 5

Middle CTristan Whiston performed for the first time as a solo soprano at the tender age of six. Years of hard work led to an accomplished singing career. But two years ago, Tristan decided to give up the most precious thing a singer has - the voice. As part of our Global Perspective Series At The Edge, CBC producer Carma Jolly brings us Tristan's audio diary of the transition from female to male.

Wrapping Dreams in LavenderGregory was only five when he knew he should have been born a girl. But it took till his mid-50s to harness the courage to become Susan. The gender he knew he was in his brain was different to the sex of his genitals. This is now known to be a medical rather than psychological condition but is still commonly confused with cross-dressing - where people dress as the opposite sex to fulfil a psychological need. For Susan this diagnosis of transsexualism was a godsend. But for Mary, his wife, it was devastating.
This program was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Media Awards for Radio.

February 2010

February 26

Sleeping through the DreamIn 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington and spoke the famous words "I have a dream." Then 18 year-old Producer Askia Muhammad was, as he recalls, 'sleeping through the dream.' Growing up in Los Angeles, Muhammad was far away from the civil rights uproar and any self-proclaimed political consciousness. Now 40 years later, Muhammad revisits his youth with two close friends. Join us for the journey of a young man's political awakening during a time of intense social unrest.

Remembering Kent State 1970When thirteen students were shot by Ohio National Guard Troops during a war demonstration on the Kent State University Campus on the first week of May 1970, four young lives were ended and a nation was stunned. More than 30 years later, the world at war is a different place. However, those thirteen seconds in May, 1970 still remain scorched into an Ohio hillside. Through archival tape and interviews, Remembering Kent State tracks the events that led up to the shootings.

February 19

My World: Officer Candidate School In 1965 and 1966, Producer Askia Muhammad was a star-struck and naive college student who had matriculated from Watts to San Jose State University, while getting college deferments to serve two years active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
As Askia began struggles with becoming a Reserve Office Candidate, the country began to struggle with itself with blacks' rights, the hippie movement, the constant protest against the war in Vietnam.
In My World: Officer Candidate School, Askia takes us through his path from faithful Naval Officer to conscientious objector.

At Home on Cape CodIn AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.

February 12

Sam's StorySam was brought to the United States by his parents as a young child, but his family overstayed their visas. Over the past fourteen years, Sam has grown from a small boy to a young man — taught in American schools and churches, he grew up like any other American kid. But when he was asked to fill in his social security number on a financial aid form, he began to realize the consequences of being undocumented.
Long Haul Productions picks up Sam's story as he's graduating from high school in Elkhart, Indiana, and looking to start his first year of college.

Citizenship DiaryHow many stars and how many stripes and what do they mean? You need to know this and many more flag questions to pass the US Naturalization test. Judith Kampfner recorded an audio diary about the process of becoming an American citizen, and about what it was like taking on a second identity. Was it a betrayal of her British roots? Or was it a very logical step to take for someone who thinks of herself as in internationalist? Many more people are becoming dual or multiple citizens today as more countries accept the idea - Mexico, Columbia and the Dominican Republic for instance. Does this dilute the concept of citizenship? Indeed perhaps we are less likely to identify ourselves as citizens today because we are part of a global culture and travel more. Kampfner discovers that going through the paperwork, the test and the ceremony does not help her feel American - that is something she and all the others who are processed have to do for themselves.

February 5

After the ShotOn the night of April 14th 1865, in front of a thousand people at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Shouting ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ – ‘thus always to tyrants’, Booth believed that he was striking down a tyrant as surely as Brutus struck down Julius Caesar. Twelve days later Booth himself was shot dead in a barn in Virginia. From the moment Booth shot Lincoln, conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination have flourished – and 140 years later, for both historians and ordinary people, they are still very much alive. Some believe Booth was the ring leader of a small group; others are convinced he was simply a pawn in a grand conspiracy plot. While still others believe it wasn’t really Booth who died in that Virginia barn. Jean Snedegar tries to unravel the truth – and a myriad of legends - about the assassination of a great American president.

New Norcia: The Monastery and the ObservatoryIn Western Australia, there's a small and somewhat surreal town called New Norcia. It's Australia's only Monastic town - with a surprising and imposing collection of Spanish style buildings. New Norcia was established in the 1850s as a 'Spanish Benedictine Monastery.' Today, a handful of monks continue the ancient tradition of prayer, work and service in their search for God. Now, New Norcia is also the home to one of the European Space Agency's largest tracking stations. A monastery next to an observatory might seem incongruous, however these neighbors have forged an unlikely understanding. Both groups are exploring the riddle of existence and space, in different ways. This program was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 2010

January 29

From Brooklyn to Banja LukaAn interesting cross cultural relationship that spans New York, Banja Luka and Amsterdam. Jonathan is a loud New Yorker, a Brooklyn Jew who has been living in Holland for 13 years. He has joint Dutch US nationality, speaks fluent Dutch, and yet remains essentially his boisterous loud American self. He is married to Dragana, a Serbian from Banja Luka, who came here in the midst of the Bosnian war and remains deeply affected by the war and its after effects in her country. They met at a party in Amsterdam ten years ago and have been together ever since. They now have a young trilingual son. The two have much in common - they're clever, loud, extravagant people from musical backgrounds. But she has a Slavic melancholia that contrasts with his wisecracking Jewish humour. In this program, they discuss their different cultures, how they feel being such big personalities living in a country that doesn't seem at first glance particularly suited to their ethnic backgrounds and character, and also the nature of their tempestuous relationship. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

The Sobbing CelebrantAustralian Broadcasting Corporation producer Natalie Kestecher thought it might be useful to have a few options up her sleeve if she ever decides to stop making radio documentary features. So she decided to become a Marriage Celebrant. Natalie enrolled in the first ever training course which, under new Australian legislation, all intending Celebrants must complete in order to be accredited.
Being a Celebrant is not just about saying the necessary words (which must always include 'I do') and ensuring the right forms are correctly filled in; it's also about devising meaningful ceremonies for a secular society. Theme weddings, butterfly releases, and quotes from 'The Prophet' are all popular. So what happens if you don't do themes, you hate 'The Prophet' and you think butterfly releases are yucky? Natalie spent a week coming to terms with the modern wedding. It turned out to be a week of introspection. 'The Sobbing Celebrant' offers an entertaining insight into the process that confers upon regular (or not so regular) citizens the right to officiate at the most significant moments in our lives. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

January 22

Treasure IsleThis year the international documentary series Global Perspective has the theme of Islands, and for BBC World Service Radio Nick Rankin travels to Fair Isle, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the British Isles, to see how newcomers find their place in a small and tight-knit community.
Fair Isle is rocky and too windy for trees to grow on, one of the Shetland Islands way north of the Scottish mainland, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea.
At times in the last century Fair Isle’s population became so low that there was talk of evacuation, as happened on the island of St Kilda. But Fair Isle is an outward looking island which has always traded things like its famous patterned knitware, and its community has survived because of its capacity to absorb newcomers and make them its own.
In Sepember 2005 the Fair Isle community of around 65 people advertised for a family to join them, and after interest from all over the world, Tommy Hyndman, a hat-maker from Saratoga Springs, New York, his wife Lis Musser and their young son Henry were the successful applicants. Nick Rankin talks to them and other incomers of different generations to Fair Isle about creating a life there, as well as to the ‘indigenous’ islanders they have joined.

My Life So Far The story told by the young people of Alert Bay, a remote island on the west coast of Canada, is both familiar and unique. Like most people who come of age in a small community, Alert Bay’s youth is torn between staying and venturing into the bigger world. What’s unique about their story is the struggle to keep their culture alive. Alert Bay is the home of the Namgis First Nation. At one time it was Canadian government policy to assimilate its aboriginal people, and suppress their language and culture. St. Michael’s Indian Residential School, now derelict, serves as painful reminder of the past, as do the stories of the community’s elders.
My Life So Far was created from tape gathered by five young people from Alert Bay, aged 11 to 17. Two CBC producers loaned them recording equipment, gave them some training, and a simple task. They were asked, tell us about where you live. Tell us about your life.

January 15

IGY: On The Ice “Could anything be more terrible than this silent, wind-swept immensity?” That’s a diary entry written by explorer Robert Falcon Scott, on his journey to Antarctica in 1905. It was, in the end, a disastrous journey. Scott wasn’t properly prepared. He had hauled along tractors, ponies, and even hay to feed the ponies, onto the ice. 50 years after Scott’s expedition, another group of explorers, much better prepared, also took a journey to Antarctica as part of a global scientific effort to investigate the continent, called the IGY -- the International Geophysical Year.
Producer Barbara Bogaev takes a look at what it was like for those men to live and work on Scott’s “silent, windswept immensity”. Their discoveries lay the basis for what we now understand about the geology, geography and even ice of the Antarctic region.

Southern Ocean VoyageAustralian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Margot Foster takes us on a voyage aboard the Aurora Australis, Australia's research vessel. The 7-week trip into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica lets scientists sample plants, animals, and ocean water quality and composition, in an attempt to uncover how climate change is affecting, and will be affected by, the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Producer Sarah Castor-Perry talks to scientists after the trip, to try to decipher the data they collected.

January 8

The BucketWhen you lower a bucket into the ocean, from a pier or off the side of a ship, it may well seem to come up containing nothing but clear water. But scientists now know that every teaspoonful of that water can contain a hundred-million tiny viruses. That sounds sinister, but without them the ocean couldn't function. Every day, marine viruses invade bacteria and other organisms, releasing their nutrients to the underwater food chain. Only since the late 1980's have marine biologists been aware of how many viruses are indigenous to the ocean, and how powerful and varied they are. They differ radically in size, shape, and DNA blueprint -- so much so that totally novel DNA keeps being discovered, with implications for anything from anti-aging creams to anti-cancer drugs and evolutionary science. Far from being a bad thing, these amazing marine viruses are useful, dramatic, novel, and dynamic; imagine that all hiding in your bucket of clear water!
Producer Judith Kampfner travels from the coast of Plymouth in England to Santa Monica to meet with some of the intrepid pioneers who are on the trail of these new natural marvels.

Photograph of algae, Emiliania Huxleyi, was provided with permission by The Natural History Museum, London (Dr. Jeremy Young) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Angie Fox) / 2009.

Surviving ExtinctionAcross the United States, ecologists are battling to save endangered species from extinction. Scientists are now joining in the effort with sophisticated models that can be used to predict, and eventually prevent extinction. In this program, we travel to the Florida Everglades to see how the tiny Cape Sable Sparrow is faring despite an over-flooded environment, and to New England to find out how field mice are adapting after their habitat was destroyed. We discover what role scientific models play in the future of these species.

January 1

Changing Spaces: Hampden, BaltimoreProducer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community.

The Changing Face of Neighborhood CrimeA look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

December 2009

December 25

Mummers at the DoorLong before Santa, Bing Crosby and the Mattel Toy Company stole the occasion, even before Christianity itself kidnapped it, the Winter Solstice was celebrated with seasonal ritual. One ancient solstice custom is Mummering. Still practiced annually in many parts of England and Ireland, this great-grand-daddy of Halloween masquerade died out in much of Canada and the United States centuries ago. In North America today it is a popular part of Christmas now only in Newfoundland and Pennsylvania.

On any night during the twelve days of Christmas you may hear a pounding on your door and strange indrawn voices shouting outside: Any mummers allowed? Whether allowed or not, the mummers will tumble in, loud and masked and rowdy and possibly threatening, turning normal household decorum upside down. They may be friends or complete strangers, and unless you can guess their identities you cannot be sure who is behind the mask or whether their intentions are benign. They are certain to track muddy boots across your carpet, play music, demand drink and act outrageously. All over Newfoundland, these rough-and-tumble spirits of the ancient winter solstice have survived despite the religious and commercial hoopla of modern Christmas.

Photos courtesy of Paul Turner

A Little Before 'Tis DayThere is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.

December 18

Life at McMurdoThe science station called McMurdo has been operating on the southern tip of the continent since 1956. It’s an important research center, attracting geologists, physicists, engineers, hydrologists, pilots, and just plain adventure-seekers. McMurdo Station has grown so much, in fact, that it’s really a town unto itself. It’s got a harbor, three airfields, a heliport, over a hundred buildings, and a bowling alley. After all, if people are going to work in such a bleak outpost, they need some recreation!
About a thousand people work at McMurdo in the summer -- 200 in the dead of winter -- and the scientists depend on the non-scientists to keep the place humming.
SOUNDPRINT went to McMurdo as part of the International Polar Year Media Collaboration Pole to Pole to cover a scientific project. While we were there, we met the diverse and colorful group of people who constitute LIFE AT MCMURDO.

GibtownGibsonton, Florida is the retirement and off-season home for hundreds of carnival and circus show people. Called "Gibtown" by many of its residents, the town was at one time considered the oddest place is America. You could walk into any restaurant and find The World's Only Living Half Girl sipping coffee with her 8 foot 4 inch husband, Giant Al. They, along with The Lobster Man, Alligator Skin Man and the Monkey Girl, among others, made their living touring with carnival sideshows. The sideshows are mostly gone. We take a look back at sideshows through the lens of Gibtown.

December 11

God IndifferentAccording to the 2006 census, more than a third of all New Zealanders claim to have no religion. Few, however, would agree to being called an atheist. For some, calling yourself an atheist is a certain path to derision. But for many, the term atheist just doesn’t accurately reflect their particular version of disbelief. Instead, they often opt for a different term: God Indifferent.
Producer Justin Gregory talks to three different people about their take on disbelief. Academic and unashamed atheist Dr. Bill Cooke, radical theologian and Presbyterian minister Professor Lloyd Geering (the only person to have been tried for heresy in New Zealand), and “constructive skeptic” Arch Thompson speak to the tradition and variety of atheism, the emerging trends of fundamentalism and indifference, and the possibilities for new forms of belief, free from gods or dogma. God Indifferent was produced by Radio New Zealand as a part of the Global Perspective series on belief.

Violet FlameProducer Brenda Hutchinson's sister has been a
member of the Church Universal and Triumphant in
Corwin Springs, Montana for several years. As a
result, Brenda became interested in finding out more
about the church, and has spent time there
talking with the people and discovering how the church
involves her sister. This religious community includes families and single people from all walks of life. Sound
plays an important role in the Church from
chanting and singing to teachings and services.
The Violet Flame is a portrait of this group and an
exploration of the issue of faith.

December 4

Climate Change CollegeIn Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the U.S., a group of people are learning firsthand about climate change. They are face to face with it. Some of them live there. Some are only visiting, and hoping to take their newfound knowledge back to the countries from which they came. They see climate change as a big problem, but not an intractable one.
Radio Deutsche-Welle Producer Irene Quaille visited their Climate Change College as part of Pole to Pole, our international media celebration of the International Polar Year.

Fire and IceThe Eskimos in Alaska have a legend that they call "The year of no summer". One year, summer never came, winter just continued. No one could fish or hunt. And nothing could grow. The story is a creation myth. A few survivors were left to form what is now the Kauwerak tribe. Scientists are now looking at the legend as another piece of evidence for what they believe was a major climate shift in the Northern Hemisphere. Producer Dan Grossman takes on a journey to discover the truth behind the legend.

This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance. Click on the following link to find out more.
Global Perspective

November 2009

November 27

World of Viruses:Flu PandemicFrom pig to farm worker and back to pig – that’s the path of the perfect swine flu virus. Likewise, chickens and turkeys, not to mention geese and birds, are hot zones for pandemic flu viruses. In the past, when governments grew concerned about a particular flu, often they will isolate, quarantine or even kill animals that carry a suspect virus. Now animal health and public health authorities are beginning to collaborate on more extensive bio-security. Producer Lakshmi Singh visits farms, fairs and clinics, to find out how surveillance is preparing for the next pandemic.

The illustration, which shows how flu pandemics are spread, is provided with permission from 2006 Albrecht GFX and the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.

HPV - the Shy VirusThe Human Papillomavirus - or HPV - is a common virus that touches billions of human beings in one way or another - from a tiny wart on the hand to invasive cancer. HPV is a major health threat worldwide, yet mostly harmless. The virus can "hide" for years from a person's immune system - with no apparent ill effects - then awaken and create deadly disease. This is the story of a virus that often doesn't act as scientists expect it to - a puzzling, paradoxical virus. HPV, the Shy Virus is part of the series "World of Viruses".

The photograph showing the structure of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is provided with permission by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2009.

November 20

MeltdownMoving at glacier pace once meant to move hardly at all. No longer. Scientists in Greenland and in Peru are watching glaciers rapidly move forward or retreat, and even disappear at historic rates. Producer Dan Grossman follows several teams as they record the meltdown of some of the world's largestt glaciers.

When the Snow Melts on SvalbardSnowy peaks, untouched wilderness as far as the eye can see -- the Svalbard archipelago, at 79° North, is a focal point of the world's Arctic research. Polar regions play a key role in regulating our climate. The are also the most sensitive to change. Just 750 miles from the North Pole, scientists from all over the world monitor what's happening to our climate and how changes affect life on our planet. Join Radio Deutsche-Welle producer Irene Quaile, as she tours Koldewey Station in the Svalbard archipelago as part of Pole to Pole, an international media celebration of the International Polar Year, produced with support from the National Science Foundation.

November 13

Who needs libraries?As more and more information is available on-line, as Amazon rolls out new software that allows anyone to find any passage in any book, an important question becomes: Who needs libraries anymore? Why does anyone need four walls filled with paper between covers? Surprisingly, they still do and in this program Producer Richard Paul explores why; looking at how university libraries, school libraries and public libraries have adapted to the new information world. This program airs as part of our ongoing series on education and technology, and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education.

Sneak OutIn the 1960's, in California, African American parents set up an elaborate ruse to get their children a better education. Restricted to poor schools in low income East Palo Alto, outside of San Francisco, parents looked across the freeway and devised a way to send their children to wealthy Palo Alto schools. A young mother, barely educated herself, organized the Sneak Out program. Working with white parents, the program was a modern day Underground Railroad. KQED FM's Kathy Baron paints a portrait of conducters and passengers, students and safe houses in the fight to end school segregation.

November 6

Yellow and BlackTalk about taxis as a guilty pleasure! Whether it's riding in style on the streets of New York (avoiding the hustle, bustle, and pain of the Subway), or zipping across London's spiraling maze of cross-streets (never doubting your intrepid guide's sense of direction), producer Judith Kampfner takes us on a tour of Taxi drivers -- the rough-edged New York City cabbies, and the traditional, vintage hacks of London.

In My Father's DreamsRob Robins has always wanted to learn to fly, but with five kids to feed the former brewery worker’s budget would not stretch to lessons and running up the required number of flying hours to get his private pilot’s license.
Now at 74, and Rob is at last living his dream. He’s learning to fly.
Rob is fit. Until recently he’d regularly cycle up the winding hills that lie alongside his home town of Christchurch, and a few months ago, he walked the tough Milford Track through New Zealand's Southern Mountains. Yet, it’s taken him almost a year to pass the physical tests required before he can start flying lessons.
There’s also another catch - Rob has been deaf since he was five. This means that he has to learn at an airfield that does not have radio controls.
So in mid-March Rob and his wife Glenis, packed up their camper van and headed to an appointment with a vintage Tiger Moth bi-plane and the isolated Mandeville airfield, near Gore
Rob’s son , Julian Robins , goes along with a microphone to observe his father's progress

October 2009

October 30

Treasure on EarthGhana’s charismatic church offers material wealth to its believers. This troubles Kofi Owusu of Joy FM, who while a committed believer in the church, is uncomfortable with the requests for the congregation to make offerings. What is preached is Prosperity Gospel is God will make you rich, but first you must give generously to your church.
Some of the pastors in Ghana’s charismatic church are very wealthy. So what is going on here? Is there any control of how the pastor spends the money given to his church? Kofi seeks to learn why the church is emphasising material gain rather than spiritual growth.
The resulting program is ‘Treasure on Earth’. This program was produced by Joy FM Ghana and is a part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

Feminism and the VeilDoes the act of a Muslim woman wearing the veil affect how she is perceived as well as her family? Does modern feminism and the practice of wearing the hijab conflict with one another? Producer Safaa Faisal returns to her home country, Egypt, to find out why so many women are taking up the veil.

October 23

Hags and NightmaresIt's the middle of the night. You wake up with a start. There's a presence in the room watching you. You sense that it is evil. But you are paralyzed and powerless. It's your worst nightmare, or is it? This program looks at a strangely common condition called sleep paralysis in which people are dreaming while they are awake and are unable to move. Psychologist Al Cheyne explores what happens to the body during these episodes and tries to explain why the experience is so terrifying. Sleep paralysis appears to be the source of some of our most terrifying myths and legends, and it has inspired artists through the ages. Hags and Nightmares was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Halloween: The Time Between Put on your scariest costume and go trick-or-treating again in this portrait of the personal--and cultural--meanings of Halloween.
Derived from ancient beliefs about the the dangers of times of transition--the end of October marks the time between the summer and winter seasons,between earth's time of life and death--and this is the theme of the holiday.
Incorporating Celtic rituals with Catholic ones, involving the dead coming back to possess the spirit of the living, and the living trying to hide or scare the spirits away, the modern American holiday has developed its own set of strange rituals. Hear a myriad of voices tell about their memories of Halloween--the tricks, but especially the treats.

October 16

Death Comes HomeAn intimate emotional portrait of three families who have chosen to fore-go the funeral director and proscribed memorial, and instead care for their dead in their own homes. This is not a story about hospice or green burial; producer April Dembosky introduces us to people taking matters into their own hands: washing and dressing the bodies of their loved ones, building coffins, digging graves, and keeping their loved ones closer to home.

Hospice ChroniclesIt's been forty years since St. Christopher's Hospice – the first modern hospice – opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have chosen hospice at the end of their lives, with many patients choosing to receive care in their homes.
Over the course of eight months, team Long Haul followed two hospice volunteers through their training and first assignments in patients' homes. Trained to provide "respite care," the volunteers set out to give family members a break from their caretaking responsibilities. And while one has a chance to reflect on her patient's life in a intimate setting, another gets to explore death in a rather unexpected way – a way that training never could have prepared him for.

October 9

Game OverVideo games dull the brain and turn children into violence craving delinquents. That apparently is the popular opinion but not one that is entirely factual. Psychologists do see an increase in violent tendencies after game playing but they also note that students who play video games learn new technologies faster in school. What if video games could be educational and improve knowledge of math, science and social studies? That is what some video game developers and educators are working on. Combining curriculum with state of the art game software, they are testing how games can improve education and student participation in the classroom. Game Over takes a look at how video games are making a comeback in the educational world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

High School TimeFrom 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, a student, teacher, and principal let us in on their world of bells, tests, technology, and teen life.
We track what a day is like at Westfield High School in Virginia. With almost 3,000 students, it is one of the largest schools in the Washington, DC area. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

October 2

Deaf and ProudThis story focuses on people who choose to live inside the very powerful deaf culture and have no desire to be "fixed" so that they can be more like hearing people. It's a world most hearing people are unlikely to ever reach without the bridge of sign language.
It might come as a surprise to learn that deaf parents don't grieve, but rather celebrate the birth of a deaf child. (And that one of the most important lessons they must teach them is that passing wind in public makes noise!)

After Graduation: Meeting Special NeedsMany learning disabled students are finding that they learn more readily with a variety of technology assistance and human support in their classrooms. But what happens once they leave school? Whether moving into the workforce, or on to higher education, most high school graduates discover they must adjust to new environments on their own and learn to advocate for themselves. Alyne Ellis takes a look at how some schools and universities are trying to ease the transition of learning disabled students to a life after graduation. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

September 2009

September 25

Hockey Diaries: Ready to PlayAt the start of the 2008-2009 hockey season, two Canadian players packed up their gear and headed east to Washington DC, home of the NHL Washington Capitals. Nineteen-year-old British Columbia rookie Karl Alzner was hoping to win a coveted spot on the team. Saskatchewan veteran Brooks Laich had just signed a new 3-year contract and was anxious to get started. Both players carried audio diaries that they would use to document their season. This is the story of that unfolded, from the exhaustion and suspense of training camp all the way to the exhilaration and emotion of the playoffs. The grind of long road-trips, the challenges of injuries and personal setbacks, the politics of the locker room, the expectations of fans, family and self… and the relentless pressure that comes with chasing hockey's biggest prize, the Stanley Cup: with all this, Karl Alzner and Brooks Laich bring us the story of everything it takes to make it as a professional hockey player.

Everest and BeyondA tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary. After his memorable conquest of Everest in 1953, this tall, craggy, modest man, added to his worldwide fame with expeditions to remote corners of the world and his activities serving the Sherpa people of Nepal. This New Zealand legend of the 20th century has lived life to the full – surviving personal tragedy as well as achieving historic triumphs and displaying tireless philanthropy. Produced by Jack Perkins of Radio New Zealand, ‘Everest And Beyond’ draws on the recollections of family, friends and colleagues of Sir Edmund Hillary and also uses audio from films shot in Nepal and India by documentary film maker Michael Dillon.

September 18

Beyond the MirrorA recent decision in the UK allowed the world’s first full facial transplants. The BBC's Kati Whitaker talks to three people about the impact of severe facial disfigurement and discovers what beliefs have helped them through their despair.
The face is our first point of contact with the world. But what happens if you lose your face to injury or disease?
Simon Weston suffered from burns in the Falklands war; Michele Simms had her face destroyed by a firework, and Diana Whybrew had half her face removed with a malignant tumor. Their belief in themselves has been challenged to its limits – down to a sense of who they are. This program was produced by the BBC World Service as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

Leaving a Mark: The Story of An Auschwitz SurvivorThis documentary features the story of Eva Schloss whose life bore remarkable parallels to that of Anne Frank. Eva Schloss was also 15 years old when she and her family were transported to Auschwitz. Like Anne Frank she also lost beloved family members in the death camp. However, unlike Anne Frank, she lived to tell the tale. After their liberation, Eva’s mother married Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Eva’s story takes up where the Anne Frank diary left off. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

September 11

Bird SafeMuch of the bush (the NZ-English term for natural forest) in New Zealand is under the protection of conservation authorities and hunters must have bird-safe dogs before they can get a permit to hunt pig or deer in the East Coast Hawkes Bay Conservancy. Producer Jack Perkins joins hunting dogs and their owners as they attend a training course near Hastings, which teaches the dogs to avoid kiwis in the bush. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Under the CanopyA very delicately nuanced and richly atmospheric story of a group of young protesters who've been camping at the end of a logging road deep in old growth forest for almost a year. They've built a tree-sit village and a full sized pirate ship to stop construction of the road. Producer Judy Rapley of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation joins them at the beginning of a cold, wet winter. This story airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 4

Cut and PastePlagiarism at universities and colleges is rife - 4 out of 10 students admit they copy material from the internet and try to pass it off as their own work. For some it's an easy way out at the last minute; for others it's driven by cut-throat competition to get into the best graduate or professional schools. To deal with the issue, colleges and universities are trying many different approaches, from changing their teaching methods to using online detection filters to promoting a culture of integrity on campus. Producer Jean Snedegar visits faculty and students at Duke, the University of Virginia, and other colleges to discover the underside of higher learning. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

The High Stakes of Today's TestingStandardized tests have been around for years in the United States. What's different now is that schools and teachers are being held accountable for the results of these tests. Add to that new federal legislation, and the stakes are raised even higher, with threats of federal funding being cut off to underachieving school districts. Then there is the question of how and what the children are being tested on. Producer Katie Gott follows the paths of two failing schools, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, to understand how each state applies its testing policy, and how testing impacts schools, teachers, parents and children. What happens if these schools don't make the grade after the scores are in? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

August 2009

August 28

The Grass is GreenerGhana is an African country that is comparatively stable politically and economically, and yet large numbers of the population want to escape overseas to where they think ‘The Grass is Greener’. Ghanaians come back from working overseas and build grand houses and flaunt their wealth with new cars and the latest mobile phones, which makes the poor Ghanaians at home long to get a slice of a better paid job than they can hope for at home.
Presenter Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, of Joy FM radio station in Accra, has had his own taste of study and menial work in the UK, and is now content to be back in Ghana. But he meets young people who are still desperate to travel outside the country. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration, Global Perspectives:Escape.

The Wendy Workers and the Chicken CatchersLeonisa Rubis is a very happy young woman these days. She's homesick for the Philippines, but she's making more money than she ever thought possible. She's working at Wendy's, serving combo meals and diet cokes, in Gibson's Landing on the Sunshine Coast of BC. That's why she came to Canada. That's why she was allowed to come to Canada. The first thing she said when she got off the plane - "I am Wendy Worker". But - if things go badly at Wendy's - she can't quit or go to work anywhere else and, at the end of 2 years, she'll be shipped back to the Philippines. She is one of a new breed - unskilled men and women - cleaning hotel rooms, working construction and flipping burgers - who are here as Temporary Foreign Workers. Canada didn't used to do this. When they needed hired hands to break the soil on the prairies, sawmill workers in BC, factory workers in Ontario – they took immigrants who came for life. Not any more. When it comes to sweat work, Canada will give you two years and then send you back where you came from. They call this being a guest worker. British Columbia will bring in at least 45,000 guest workers this year. That's the highest per capita number in Canada. They come in on nearly every plane at the Vancouver airport. The Wendy Workers and the Chicken Catchers was produced by Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

August 21

Educating EmilyTwelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Teaching: The Next GenerationIn conversations about the use of technology in schools, what you'll often hear is: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom. The program also explores Mr. Mason's approach to teaching by testing his theories about "what works" against the opinions of education experts. Producer Richard Paul brings us "Teaching: The Next Generation." This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

August 14

Fishing for My Master: Slavery in GhanaAll along Ghana's Cape coast, the old granite fortresses are now museums, bitter reminders of the colonial slave trade. Grim-faced tourists pay to see the musty dungeons, rattle the rusting chains, and open the doors that led to the slave ships.
But just down the road from the Cape Coast museums, slavery isn't about roots and it isn't about history. Today in Ghana, somewhere between five and seven thousand children ply the waters of Lake Volta, fishing. They have masters.
They don't get paid. They don't go to school. And if they try to escape they are beaten. The going rate to buy a five-year-old child is ten dollars - cheaper now than it was 200 years ago when people were being loaded onto ships.
The story of modern child slavery in Ghana isn't straightforward or simple. Even the villains of the piece have a case. It's a story of trade-offs between development and grinding poverty, between school and food, between children and parents and police. There is no quick-fix and no easy ending here.
In the middle of it, an unassuming man named Jack Dawson uses whatever transportation he can find - rusty van, old bicycle, strong feet - to take him to where the child slaves are. So he can begin the extremely delicate process of trying to save at least a few of them. It's in the bustling marketplace of Yeji, a city on the shores of the man-made Lake Volta, that the children are first sold. And that's where CBC producer David Gutnick begins his documentary, called: Fishing for My Master.

The Orphan Train"The Orphan Train" is an unnarrated documentary about one of the least known and yet most significant social experiments in American history. In September 1854, the first "orphan train" carried 46 homeless children from New York City to far off homes to become laborers in the pioneer West. It was the first step in what was to become the emigration of as many as 250,000 orphan children to new homes throughout the entire United States. Some children found kind homes and families, others were overworked and abused. Widely duplicated throughout its 75 year history, the original orphan train was the creation and life project of the now forgotten man who was to become the father of American child welfare policy. This documentary features interviews with surviving orphan train riders, as well as readings from historical newspapers, letters and journals, and is laced with classical and folk music.

August 7

Call me Nana It's a job they never expected. A club they never wanted to join. According to the Statistics Canada census released this week, there are more than 65,000 grandparents in Canada raising grandchildren on their own, without the parents present. They're called skipped generation families. And their number is growing by about a thousand every year.
Most of the grandparents - more than two thirds - are actually grandmothers and step-grandmothers. Women who have turned their lives upside down to parent for a second time. They do it because their grandchildren are at risk - abandoned or neglected, and destined to become wards of the state. Theirs are stories of love and devotion. But also of real struggle - physical, emotional and financial. These grandmothers are the subject of Alisa Siegel's documentary this morning called Call Me Nana.

Call Me Nana was produced by Alisa Siegel of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

Ode to JosephineJosephine Fernandez was Dheera Sujan's 20-something, bow-legged, horsey faced Goan ayah, or nanny. She was about five and her sister two years younger when Josie came into their lives. She stayed with them until they immigrated to Australia a few years later. When they left India for good to start a new life, it was Josie whom they missed more than anything else they'd left behind. This program comes to us from Radio Netherlands and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

July 2009

July 31

Survivors(2009)President Obama has declared that “We have banned torture without
exception.” However, some would take exception to this claim. The
practice of isolating a prisoner in solitary confinement for extended periods of time causes severe sensory deprivation and has been denounced as torture by the United Nations. But tens of thousands of inmates are locked up in solitary confinement in American prisons today. And the number is rapidly growing. Often prisoners spend years – even decades – by themselves in a cell the size of a small bathroom. They don't see anyone. They don't talk to anyone. They don't touch anyone. What does this experience do to a person's mental state?
Claire Schoen shows us what solitary confinement looks, sounds and
feels like.

The Convict StreakBernie Matthews was a ‘serial escapee’ - the thought of incarceration too much to bear. Yet every time he escaped (6 in all), his sentence (for armed robbery) was extended, and the punishment made more severe. Until he escaped through the pen.
Bernie likens himself to the convict George Howe – one of the thousands of criminals transported to New South Wales between 1819 and 1848. ‘Happy George’, with no formal eduction became the first editor of The Sydney Gazette.
But these two men are the exceptions of their times. The life of a convict in early C19 Australia was gruelling and desperate, as it is for those incarcerated today. Punishment for Escaping included solitary confinement and being sent to the harshest of prison environments –Van Diemen’s land then and the Super max prisons now. Yet some still managed to get away…
The Convict Streak was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as part of the 2008 international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

July 24

Green Tea and LandminesThe streets of Mae Sot, on the Thai Burma border, are full of stories of loss and death and flight. About two and a half million Burmese have fled their country for Thailand, Burma remains one of the poorest countries in the world, and the protests against the military dictatorship have done little to change peoples' lives. In this episode, Nicole Steinke of the Australian broadcasting Corporation visits the extraordinary haven of Dr Cynthia Maung's Mae Tao Clinic. Funded mainly by foreign donations, Mae Tao Clinic runs the training center for the Backpack Medical Teams and the Free Burma Rangers, both of whom illegally cross the border back into Burma to help the country's ethnic minorities survive the onslaught of the Burmese military.
The Clinic is also where people come to vaccinate their babies, to be treated for malaria or cholera, or to receive a prosthetic -- many of the refugees fleeing the Burmese military have been forced to act as unwilling porters, or even as human landmine detectors.
We also meet long-time political prisoners, ethnic Burmese working to help their own people in their struggle against the Burmese military, and children who have crossed the border alone.

Holland's Black PageProducer Dheera Sujan from RADIO NETHERLANDS traces the stories of four former soldiers who tortured and killed Indonesian prisoners. Now in their seventies, they remember the details of quieting an open rebellion in the late 1940's. They remember the electrocutions, the torture and the killing. They also remember how they had to live in shame with the secrets. They call for the Dutch government to accept some measure of responsibility for what they say they were ordered to do. Their solace lies in being able to publicly discuss the events. Holland's Black Page originally aired as part of the collaboration War and Forgiveness, produced by Soundprint, WNYC, and Radio Netherlands with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

July 17

Practicing Emptiness'Women sell themselves short doing things they hate in search of money or security or emotional
fulfillment,' says writer Carmen Delzell. For some this means staying in a bad marriage, to keep a roof
overhead or for the children's sake; for some it means prostitution. Delzell shares conversations with
women of diverse backgrounds -- a former prostitute, a woman who has suffered an abusive marriage,
an exotic dancer -- and reveals the threads that bind their experiences, and those of all women,
together.

Temple ProstitutesTemple Prostitutes
A group of former devadasis - or Temple Prostitutes - are fighting to eradicate a
centuries-old Hindu tradition which turns them into prostitutes. Originally,
devadasi were celibate dancing girls used in temple ceremonies and they entertained
members of the ruling class. But sometime around the 6th Century, the practice of
"dedicating" girls to Hindu gods became prevalent in a practise that developed into
ritualised prostitution.
The girls are mainly of the lowest class, 'untouchables,' and their fight is the
ultimate clash of ancient and modern culture in India. The prevalence of the
devadasi tradition in parts of Southern India, in particular, means that social
acceptance of sex work in Karnataka State is common with devastating consequences
for the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Hear the heart-wrenching story of Joythi, a young 'devadasi' or temple prostitute.
Joythi, her two small children, and her entire family depend on the income she
receives from bestowing her divine gift on her clients. But the truth is that she is
no more than a common prostitute, and as such is in a very dangerous profession.
Award-winning documentary-maker Kati Whitaker travels to the south of India to meet
Joythi - and the small group of former devadasis who are trying to persuade her to
leave the profession.

July 10

Sycamore TreeFiona was randomly and violently sexually assaulted at the age of seven; Helen was sexually abused by her father, and later her stepfather. Both are sick and tired of sleepless nights and living in fear, and have turned to the Sycamore Tree Project in an attempt to move on.
The Sycamore Tree Project is a faith based, restorative justice program, where victims visit unrelated offenders in prison over a period of months to discuss crime and its ongoing effect on victims. Victims are given a platform to describe their pain, fear and loss. Offenders are encouraged to share their stories, to accept responsibility for their crime and to consider ways in which they might make restitution to their particular victims.
Sycamore Tree was produced by Kirsti Melville of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Goalkeepers of Sierra LeoneThe United Nations has labeled Sierra Leone the worst place on earth to live. The final peace accord in an 11-year civil war was signed two years ago. There is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, often traveling the country in rowboats and on foot, and an internationally funded Special Court has been built in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. One of the hallmarks of the civil war there was the practice of amputating the limbs of your enemy. There is, in fact, now an entire soccer team in Freetown made up of amputees. Those who had a leg cut off play on the field; men who kept their legs but lost their arms play goal. The team has more in common than missing limbs; they are all intensely interested in the ongoing trials at the Special Court. They want to know what happens to the people ultimately responsible for their missing limbs. In Karin Wells' documentary “The Goalkeepers of Sierra Leone", part of the CBC's "Africa After the Wars" series, she travels to a town where thousands of people have been the victims of amputations. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. It won a Gold Medal at the 2005 New York Festivals.

July 3

Where the Buffalo RoamHong Kong is largely known for its sophisticated mix of every thing modern, and its thriving economy, but this island city of over 7 million people also has a thriving animal kingdom. Like their human counterparts, these animals are not native to the land.
Sarah Passmore of Radio Television Hong Kong introduces these animals, from "Pui Pui" the celebrity crocodile to the Rhesus Monkeys that terrorize women and children.
For our Global Perspective Series on Escape, Sarah Passmore shows us around Hong Kong where the Buffalo roam.

Born FreeBuilt on the site of a colonial era estate, the John Morony Correctional Complex in Sydney’s outer suburban fringe covers 300 acres and all the bases. There are minimum and maximum-security prisons for men, and a women’s prison. There is also accommodation for a seized crocodile, smuggled parrots, endangered snakes, crippled kangaroos and wounded wombats.
In the middle of an Australian summer the sprawling prison grounds are dry, bare and flat, and the whole complex is surrounded by high chain link fences topped with razor wire. Within this forbidding environment there lies an unlikely refuge, a literal sanctuary of green, with a lush garden, shady trees and plenty of water. The wildlife center is part animal hospital, part educational facility – and a congenial workplace for three correctional officers and ten minimum security male inmates.
Producer Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation takes listeners inside a jail to meet up with a group of men for whom working in a cage might even be fun. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

June 2009

June 26

Birthday SuitJanet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country.
Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped.
Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time?

The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment".
I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections.

Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less?
And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm?
And then how hygenic really are these places?
At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule.
And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen.
It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic.
Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'?

Brazilian BeautyIn a world where just about everyone is concerned about their different shapes, sizes and colors producer Ilana Rehavia takes us from the beaches to the countryside of Brazil to see what the people have to say.

June 19

Mediums, not RareIt's a small village in the rolling hills of southwestern New York.
Perched on the edge of a tranquil lake, it's a place where a stranger is
made to feel welcome. The friendly people who live here are doctors,
teachers, accountants, artists. Plain folks -- who talk to the dead.
Welcome to Lily Dale, the home base of Spiritualism -- a uniquely
"made-in-America" religion in which communication with the dead is both
possible and desirable. Founded in 1879, Lily Dale is North America's
oldest community of Spiritualists and Mediums. With its roots in the
radical and socially progressive movements of the late 19th century, it
began as a summer campsite for all who shared the Spiritualist vision of
universal equality and harmony. The tents and temporary shelters that
dotted the grounds soon gave way to permanent homes, and today Lily Dale
has a population of over 400. During the summer months, Lily Dale
attracts over 20,000 visitors. They come for workshops, seminars, and
lectures on communicating with the dead. It was a natural for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producer Frank Faulk. His documentary is called Mediums, Not
Rare.

The Lucky Secret to SuccessMany Hong Kongers believe that a person’s success is governed by five factors. These are, in order of importance: fate/destiny, luck, feng shui, good deeds/virtues, and hard work/study.
For the city that’s known for its competitive business culture, assiduous students, and industrious people; it seems surprising that hard work comes at the bottom of the list and more importance is attributed to external factors facilitating success.
So are Hong Kongers successfully lucky or luckily successful?
Erin Bowland of Radio Television Hong Kong explores the culture that is full of superstitions, rituals and beliefs revolving around the pursuit of success. This program was produced by Radio Television Hong Kong as part of our Global Perspective series on belief.

June 12

Touchstones of RealityHaving a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder isn’t easy for patients, or for their families. In the early days of mental illness, the pressures can tear families apart, and many of them don't know where to turn. As patients and caretakers age, things can get even tougher. While mental health services may provide some support, it's often family members who remain the only "touchstones of reality" for the person suffering with a severe mental illness. Producer Jean Snedegar speaks to several families who face the difficult challenge of supporting their mentally ill family members throughout the course of their lives.

Lost in AmericaFour people living on the edge--drug addicts, a prostitute and a blind woman--recount their journeys to a new life, revealing the connections between home and homelessness along the way. Producer Helen Borten brings us "Lost in America." This program won an EMMA award from the National Women's Political Caucus for Best Radio Documentary.

June 5

The Color of ShakespeareAt countless times in America, and for countless groups of citizens, the question has come up: Who "owns" Shakespeare? Who is it meant for, and to whom does it mean what? This is a particularly poignant question in the case of African-Americans, whom some have sought to exclude from the Bard's work. This story looks at minstrel show parodies of Shakespeare, color-blind casting of Shakespeare, and the African-American experience with Shakespeare. Produced by Richard Paul and narrated by Sam Waterston, The Color of Shakespeare was made possible with support from the Folger Library.

Living History in Colonial WilliamsburgStep back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, following a woman whose job it is to play an 18th slave character in Colonial Williamsburg; a woman who must learn, in 2004, to interpret and recreate 1770 slave culture for a tourist audience. The story is told through this character's own narration and reflection, her interaction with other historical characters and with the tourist public in Williamsburg, and through documentation of her daily tasks. As she steps in and out of character, we discover what it's like to step in and out of history: re-enacting the mundanities and tensions of 18th century life in the fields and kitchens during the day and negotiating a modern 21st century life after visiting hours.

May 2009

May 29

The PeakistFacing the future, with news bulletins full of daily doom and gloom, can be a dispiriting business.
In fact, sometimes it seems easier to turn off the news and do something simple. Something we can control all by ourselves – like going for a walk. Lloyd Morcom knows intuitively that people get sick of too much bad news. But he also feels he must change his life dramatically to survive the challenges of the years ahead, especially the challenges of the global financial crisis, climate change and peak oil.
In ‘The Peakist’ – the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s contribution to the 2009 Global Perspective ‘island’ series, we hear the story of Lloyd, an ex 70’s hippy and former oil man, and how his experiences and the mistakes he made in the past, are helping shape big changes in his life.
While John Donne said that no man is an island, Lloyd Morcom sometimes feels like one. An island in his own community and his own country.
At the height of the global financial crisis Lloyd, with some misgivings (he knows how people feel about bad news) decides to call a public meeting to outline his fears for the future. More importantly he hopes to convince his fellow locals in this small, conservative, rural community in South Gippsland, Victoria to follow his lead and start changing their lives.

The Public Green and the PoorNumerous times in American history, reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature -- the belief being that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently. And it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program, from Producer Richard Paul, looks at a time in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor. It airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

May 22

A Hiroshima StoryOn a sunny August morning in 1945, Keijiro Matsushima sat in his math class in Hiroshima. He looked out the window, saw two American bombers in the clear blue sky, and suddenly his world was torn apart. Now a retired English teacher, he fears young people today are no longer interested in his story.
On a sunny June morning in 2005, Amsterdam English teacher Kevin Hogan’s 11th grade class are reading a novel about Hiroshima. They are the same age Mr. Matsushima was sixty years ago. How will they react when they hear his story?
A Hiroshima Story was produced by David Swatling of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

The Bonus Army MarchIn 1932, in the depths of the Depression, thousands of hungry and disgruntled veterans of WW I marched on Washington, D.C. demanding that Congress pay them the bonus for their military service that had been promised years before. Banding together, unemployed Oregon cannery workers marched with Pennsylvania coal miners and Alabama cotton pickers, as more than 20 thousand "bonus marchers" participated in the biggest rally to date in the nation's capital. And they stayed for weeks, setting up tent cities, living in cardboard shanties, and shaking the nerves of President Hoover. Find out how they played a role in defeating Hoover in the fall election, and improving the government's treatment of veterans after WW II.

May 15

Life Beyond Death" My son was dead, but six Israelis now have a part of a Palestinian in
them, and maybe he is still alive in them"
These are the words of the Palestinian father Ismail Khatib who donated his son
Ahmed's organs to Israelis after the 12 year old was shot dead by Israeli
soldiers while holding a toy gun.
This remarkable gesture of humanity is not the first time victims of the
conflict have given life to people on the other side of the Arab-Jewish
divide. This year is the 5th anniversary of the death of Yoni Jesner, a
19 year old Jewish religious student murdered in the bombing of a
Tel-Aviv bus. Part of his body went to save the life of a Palestinian
girl from East Jerusalem. Presenter
Vera Frankl of the BBC takes a closer look at the generosity and faith of these
two families - the Jesners and the Khatibs - and we ask if a person can
live on in some way through organ donation - here, in these two stories,
part of a Jew alive in an Arab, and part of an Arab alive in a Jew.

EpiphanyIn this program, producer Richard Paul examines the roots of hatred in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and considers whether people of faith can ever reconcile those divisions. The world’s great monotheistic faiths share centuries-old traditions, but they are also locked in dangerous rivalries that permeate contemporary thought. Through the stories of three men raised to their religion's version of the truth, and distrust of the "other", this program probes that duality and confirms the power of faith to overcome legacies of hostility, illuminating ways that people work beyond hatred and stereotypes.

May 8

Death Diminishes MeWhen John Donne hopefully asserted that no man is an island, he couldn’t have foreseen the agony of isolation suffered by those living with the HIV virus. Add guilt, abandonment, memory, anger and the wearing effects of a serious illness, and the sufferer can feel less like an island, and more like an abandoned leper colony .
In Death Diminishes Me, six New Zealand men who have been HIV positive for more than 20 years and lost both lovers and friends to the disease are now isolated by the same things that connect them - infection, guilt, loss and hope.

The Darker Side of RomanceHaving a boyfriend or a girlfriend is the dream of teenagers everywhere but, in Britain there’s a bleak side to the story. The UK has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe, and there’s been a steady rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections amongst young people. Although having sex is illegal under the age of 16, increasing numbers of young people are sexually active. Producer Esther Armah of the BBC visits a unique drop-in centre, that offers young people the chance to discuss sex and emotional problems, and gives them the means to protect themselves. We hear from teenagers in Britain today about the mixed messages they are getting and their concern that they are not getting enough sex education in schools. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

May 1

The TravelerThe monarch butterfly is the greatest marathon runner of the insect world. Each year in May hundreds of millions of them take off from their winter quarters in Morelia, Mexico to begin a perilously delicate 3000 mile journey north. With luck, three months later by the human calendar but three generations later in butterfly time, the Monarchs reach northern United States and southern Canada. In late summer their journey begins again, and they arrive back in their winter roosts around the time of the Mexican Day of the Dead in late November. And while the monarch butterfly is beautiful, it is also mysterious. We don't know how the monarchs know where to go. We have no idea how they navigate the annual route along identical flight paths, right down to nesting on the same trees in the same fields year after year. And we don't know how they pass on the knowledge of those routes to the future generations that make the return trip. Producer Chris Brookes takes us on an in-depth journey with the monarch butterfly, and looks at three factors that may be threatening its existence.

The Evolution BoomerangAs humans continue to make their imprint on Earth, they find they are making a noticeable difference in the evolution of different species. The Evolution Boomerang looks at the effect humans are having on insects, fish and certain kinds of bacterium, and how that evolution is in turn affecting humans.

A Prison within a Prison When one thinks of prison islands many names spring to mind – Devil’s Island, Robben Island, Alcatraz Island, to name a few. Gaza may not be an island or a prison but it feels like both to many residents – especially since an Israeli blockade has isolated them from the rest of the world.
Fouzan Saleh, an unemployed businessman, suffers from depression. He's had to close his small textile factory and one by one sell off the sewing machines to support his family. He lives in a small apartment with his wife, three children and his 60 year old mother who came to Gaza as a refugee in 1948.
The family has been threatened with eviction and depend on aid for food and basic necessities. To "escape" the pressure of not being able to support his family, Saleh sleeps in the garden or walks to the beach. The eldest daughter, age 14, dreams of becoming a psychiatrist to help people like her parents.
In October 2008, Radio Netherlands producer Eric Beauchemin travelled to Gaza for a mental health conference and spent time with the Saleh family. He left just before the borders were closed to foreign journalists – two months before Israel began another bombing assault on Gaza.

A Life of AshesThere are more than 40 million widows in India today – and for a large proportion of these women, their lives are what some have referred to as a living sati – a reference to the now outlawed practice of widow burning. A woman’s diet, dress, and even sexuality all suddenly become part of the public realm the moment her husband dies.
Producer Dheera Sujan is an Indian herself and the daughter of a widow. In A Life of Ashes she weaves her own experiences with those of the women she met.

April 17

Children and GodThe three major monotheistic religions operate from the assumption that: We have the truth, we have a privileged position, we are above others who do not believe as we do, and we are against others who do not believe as we do. This line of thinking creates strong communities of people with deep, abiding faith. But the dark side of these ideas can be seen in Srebrenica, the West Bank and the World Trade Center.
The religious person learns concepts like "God" and "My Religion" at the same time as concepts like "Green" and "Family." By preadolescence, these ideas have been planted quite deeply. This program takes a look at the results by following three 12-year olds - an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim and an Evangelical Christian -- as they pursue their religious education. We hear the songs they sing, the prayers they chant, the lessons they read and how their formal and informal training drives them to believe that, because of their religion, they have a special and exclusive relationship with God.

Biblically Correct ToursIf you walk through a natural history museum these days, you might see signs that reflect our more "politically correct" reality. For instance, the word "humankind" often replaces "mankind" on the placards. But a Christian movement aims to take museums beyond politically correct to what they refer to as "biblically correct".
CBC’s Frank Faulk explores "Biblically Correct Tours" which offer a literal, Biblical interpretation of everything from what fossils tell us about evolution, to the disappearance of the dinosaurs. One of the guides teaches children that evolution is "bad science" and that answers to questions concerning where we came from can be found in the book of Genesis. This program was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as part of our Global Perspective series about belief.

April 10

Chung King Mansions: a Work in ProgressHong Kong’s Chung King Mansions is an infamous tenament building, which has a colourful past, present and who knows what future. Built as residential flats in the early 60s, these days it is a haven for immigrants, refugees, travellers and anyone else who needs a cheap place to stay.
It is an extraordinary place and stands out as a rather shabby island in its more luxurious surroundings. With a thousand owners and bad past management it has been almost impossible to ever get consensus on what to do with it. Meanwhile it thrives as a business community, appears to be self-sufficient and it is an international melting pot somewhat a law unto itself.
But change is afoot with two determined managers trying to tame this apparently unmanageable building and community and its reputation growing as an international business hub.
“In Chung King Mansions: A Work in Progress” RTHK’s Sarah Passmore takes a step inside. This program airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives on Islands.

Little Fish in a Multiculti PondNot very far from Amsterdam is a neighborhood called the Baarsjes, or
“little fish”. The area covers less than one square mile, and houses 35,000 residents from 126 countries.
Such multicultural diversity in such a small area has not been without
serious problems. Controversy and discrimination are not uncommon in the area. The most recent debate surrounds plans to build a new Turkish mosque.
But residents believe they can make a difference by taking initiatives to bring these diverse communities together - through meetings, sport and cultural events. Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands takes to the streets of his neighborhood to find out just how much is changing for the “Little Fish in a Multiculti Pond.” This program was produced by Radio Netherlands Worldwide as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

April 3

My Life So Far The story told by the young people of Alert Bay, a remote island on the west coast of Canada, is both familiar and unique. Like most people who come of age in a small community, Alert Bay’s youth is torn between staying and venturing into the bigger world. What’s unique about their story is the struggle to keep their culture alive. Alert Bay is the home of the Namgis First Nation. At one time it was Canadian government policy to assimilate its aboriginal people, and suppress their language and culture. St. Michael’s Indian Residential School, now derelict, serves as painful reminder of the past, as do the stories of the community’s elders.
My Life So Far was created from tape gathered by five young people from Alert Bay, aged 11 to 17. Two CBC producers loaned them recording equipment, gave them some training, and a simple task. They were asked, tell us about where you live. Tell us about your life.

A Whisper from the PastIn Australia, the world's driest continent, the north eastern
state of Queensland is in the grip of the worst drought in 100 years, and the state government is pushing hard for one of the country's most beautiful valleys to be dammed. However, the Mary River is one of the last breeding places for a strange and ancient fish held sacred by the Gubbi Gubbi people, who were brought up to believe they must do everything they can to protect the fish. In 'A Whisper from the Past' the ABC's Nick Franklin explores how an indigenous elder is pursuing her belief in the Queensland lung fish', known to her people as 'Dala', to save the valley. This program was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as part of our Global Perspective series about belief.

March 2009

March 27

Islands of SecurityIn South Africa’s not so distant past the word ‘Island’ would have immediately conjured up Robben Island off Cape Town, the prison for decades of Nelson Mandela and his fellow political prisoners during apartheid.
But in a country of very high levels of violent crime, with a murder rate around 7 times that of the USA, other ‘islands’ are springing up inland – the gated and guarded residential estates which are becoming a refuge for the wealthy.
Gated communities are a form of living spreading widely in all continents, especially where the difference between rich and poor is greatest, but in South Africa with its history of apartheid and exclusion on racial grounds, the subject of privatisation of space and keeping people out is a particularly sensitive one.
In ‘Islands of Security’ for SAFM radio station in Johannesburg Sibahle Malinga visits Dainfern security estate in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, a gated community with a 7.5 km perimeter, protected by a high electrified double fence, guarded gateways, and armed security guards.
Sibahle’s journey takes her to the nearby township of Diepsloot to find out how its residents feel about being outside the fence, and the outskirts of Soweto where a wealthy man living without high fences or gates describes how his feeling of security comes from being known by his neighbours.

The Changing Face of Neighborhood CrimeA look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

March 20

Short CircuitLiterally synaesthesia means "a crossing of the senses." In practice synaesthetes may see colors when they hear music, or experience taste when they are touched. Letters and numbers have individual colors and words can appear as paintings. For a long time it was thought that synaesthetes were fabricating their experiences, but recent neurological studies show that they do in fact perceive things like music or words with several senses. In Short Circuit, people with synaesthesia talk about the difficulties of explaining what they see, hear and taste. We also hear from two artists, Carol Steen and Ans Salz, who use their work to translate the complex landscape of their minds. This program was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

BetwitchedUntil recently, little was known about the unusual neurological disorder that compels people to make strange noises, utterances and movements, otherwise known as tourette's syndrome. On today’s Program, producer Natalie Kestecher of the ABC helps us get a glimpse into the worlds of several people living with, and struggling through, Tourette’s Syndrome. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

March 13

Treasure IsleThis year the international documentary series Global Perspective has the theme of Islands, and for BBC World Service Radio Nick Rankin travels to Fair Isle, one of the most remote inhabited islands in the British Isles, to see how newcomers find their place in a small and tight-knit community.
Fair Isle is rocky and too windy for trees to grow on, one of the Shetland Islands way north of the Scottish mainland, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the North Sea.
At times in the last century Fair Isle’s population became so low that there was talk of evacuation, as happened on the island of St Kilda. But Fair Isle is an outward looking island which has always traded things like its famous patterned knitware, and its community has survived because of its capacity to absorb newcomers and make them its own.
In Sepember 2005 the Fair Isle community of around 65 people advertised for a family to join them, and after interest from all over the world, Tommy Hyndman, a hat-maker from Saratoga Springs, New York, his wife Lis Musser and their young son Henry were the successful applicants. Nick Rankin talks to them and other incomers of different generations to Fair Isle about creating a life there, as well as to the ‘indigenous’ islanders they have joined.

At Home on Cape CodIn AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.

March 6

Traffic Islands:Dividing LinesTraffic Islands: Dividing Lines
This documentary explores the collective narrative created by people whose lives
intersect in different ways with traffic islands and streetscapes. From a scientist trying to rationalize urban wildlife patterns, to a man who makes a living on the street corner, to people who use the streetscape to
memorialize loved ones: what they have in common is that they map out private parts of their
lives on the public traffic grid. We'll hear about this traffic island life in
stories from the medians, as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives on Islands.

Every Tree Tells A StoryUrban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park.

February 2009

February 27

FatwasWhen Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie in 1989
calling for his death, the fatwa became synonymous in the West with
extremism and intolerance. And yet for Muslims the fatwa is the bridge
between the principles of their faith and modern life. Thousands of fatwas
are issued every month in Egypt by religious leaders dealing with
everything from divorce to buying a car on an instalment plan to
breast-feeding in public. Presenter Eva Dadrian investigates how fatwas are
helping Muslims negotiate their faith in their daily lives. Produced by Katy Hickman of the BBC. This program airs as part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Durga's CourtIt's on the verandah of a house in a remote village in West Bengal, India, where one court's sessions are held. Each litigating party comes with a group of supporters who try to outshout each other, and the judge – untrained in formal law – makes her rulings by a potent alchemy of mythology, common sense, a flamboyant personality and a very loud voice. Shabnam Ramaswamy is the only hope for hundreds of people who are too poor to grease palms to make India’s judiciary or police work for them and her court is often the only shot these people have at justice. In Durga’s Court, Dheera Sujan visits what must be one of the more unusual courts of justice in the world. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

February 20

When the Siren SoundsThe Volunteer Fire Brigade in Akaroa has been putting out fires, rescuing horses, and prying survivors out of mangled vehicles for over 100 years. It’s the backbone of this tiny community with 25 trained members on call twenty-four hours a day.
When the siren sounds, they drop everything – and race to the station and into the trucks. Sometimes it’s a car over the edge of a bank on one of the many treacherously windy roads in the region, sometimes a house fire where the occupants are personal friends.
Nowadays, there are women on the brigade, and a disabled man who fought hard to get behind the wheel of the truck. What hasn’t changed is the camaraderie and friendships formed from years of risking their lives to save others.

TraumaThis program is a portrait of the ebb and flow of life within the Alfred Hospital's Trauma and Emergency Department in Melbourne, Australia. In a kaleidoscopic style, Mark Fitzgerald, the Director of Emergency Services takes us into the heart of his department a place where dramatic, life-changing events occur with relentless regularity against a background of routine order. As staff and patients share their experiences of either unexpectedly arriving at the hospital or coming home from it every day, we discover what place the big questions about life, society and human nature have in an environment that by definition strives to maintain the mechanics of life from one moment to the next. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

February 13

Gay Ballroom DancingIan and his partner had no experience dancing in competition. Yet they decided to enter the ballroom event at the International Gay Games held in Australia. They kept an audio diary of their training in the Waltz, the Quick Step and the Tango. They also recorded how they learned to glide around the dance floor with confident smiles, even when shaking with nerves and, on one memorable occasion, with Ian's trousers falling down. Ian Poitier steps out onto the dance floor and takes us into the world of ballroom dancing. This program was produced by Louise Swan of the BBC and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The United States of DatingA producer's quest for real stories of how people meet each other in the current dating environment, and how they negotiate their dating
relationships. Along the way, we'll hear from matchmakers, relationship experts and common-or-garden daters. We'll explore how the written word still rules romance and dating etiquette -- from staccato text-message shorthand to classified ads, postcards and email. We'll meet the Dating Coach who advises clients on putting their best face forward; New York City's own cupid cab driver who tries his hand at amateur matchmaking in Manhattan gridlock; a political activist who runs a booming online dating
service for like-minded lefties (motto: "take action, get action"); and a woman who blogs her private dating activities in a public online diary...
with some surprising results. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

February 6

Sleeping through the DreamIn 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington and spoke the famous words "I have a dream." Then 18 year-old Producer Askia Muhammad was, as he recalls, 'sleeping through the dream.' Growing up in Los Angeles, Muhammad was far away from the civil rights uproar and any self-proclaimed political consciousness. Now 40 years later, Muhammad revisits his youth with two close friends. Join us for the journey of a young man's political awakening during a time of intense social unrest.

Go Tell it on the MountainIt was born in the oral culture of African slaves in the American south. It was embraced by the civil rights movement in the 1960's. Today it is a perennial favorite at Christmas concerts and church services across North America. The spiritual Go Tell It on the Mountain has come to mean many things depending on the time and place in which it is sung - freedom anthem, hymn of faith, a simple song of Christmas. As is the case with most spirituals, its music and lyrics cannot be attributed to any one person. African American composer John Wesley Work is credited with formally adapting the song and including it in a songbook in 1907. But the versions of Go Tell it on the Mountain are as varied and distinctive as the people performing it. But it is always, at its heart, a song of joy. This program comes to us from Producer Jean Dalrymple of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 2009

January 30

Through Glass Walls: The Three Lives of Howard ButenFifty-four-year-old Howard Buten has a very strange CV. Successful writer. Psychologist. Internationally recognized expert on autism. And award-winning clown. Ever since he was a little boy growing up in Detroit in the 1950's, Howard Buten has juggled his need to act, write stories, and help people with disabilities.
His 8 books have earned him the title of Chevalier and France's most prestigious arts award. He is the founder of a day center for profoundly autistic young adults in Paris. And as Buffo the white-faced clown, he performs his one-man-show on stages all over the world.
On a recent tour of Quebec, CBC producer David Gutnick hooked up with Buffo - and the other guys. Here's his documentary - "Through Glass Walls: The Three Lives of Howard Buten."
This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Music Boat ManReinier Sijpkens travels around the world making magic and music for children. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, trumpet and conch. Producer Dheera Sujan meets with this illusive magical character who says his day job is "developing his soul."

January 23

After the ForgettingThis is a story about a Vermont family's experience living with an elderly member's progressive dementia. It is told in a series of interview segments and dinner conversations among the story's three characters, Gregory Sharrow, his husband Bob Hooker, and Greg's mother Marjorie. The story explores the relationship with a son and son-in-law whose names Marjorie can't remember. It addresses the question, what happens to love when there is no more memory? There is no narration in the story. Brooklyn musician Karinne Keithley created music for the story. For more about Karinne Keithley, go to: http://www.fancystitchmachine.org/ Thanks to Rob Rosenthal for his mentorship during the production of this piece.

Blindness and InsightThey say that you can never go home again, but journalist David Stewart proves otherwise. With the advent of an eye condition called RP and the imminent loss of his vision, David returns to his home town of Galion, Ohio, to test his memory against the truth. He reunites with old friends and finds out that much has changed and still more has stayed the same. Producer Susan Davis presents this portrait of blindness and insight.

January 16

The Busker and the DivaMargaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano".
While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated.
Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives.

Kinshasa StoryHead off to one of the great music capitals of the world, Kinshasa, on the banks of the mighty Congo River in Central West Africa. This Kinshasa Story is all about music and music makers - from well established stars, to hopeful wannabes with nothing more than a set of empty cans as drums. Our guide is Melbourne musician and some time disc jockey, Miriam Abud. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 9

Trapped on the Wrong Side of HistoryIn 1939, California farm girl Mary Kimoto Tomita traveled to Japan to learn Japanese and connect with the culture of her ancestors. She boarded a ship two years later to come back home to America. Two days into the voyage, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The ship turned around and Mary was trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. Mary's story -- told through interviews and letters from the time -- is a rare glimpse at a piece of the World War II experience.

Remains of the Sword: Armenian OrphansNinety years ago, up to 1.5 million Armenians were deported and died at the hands of the Ottoman rulers of Turkey. But it is believed that Turkish families saved thousands of orphaned Armenian children secretly. Some children who had been adopted were then forcibly taken away from their Turkish families by foreign troops and sent to orphanages in Europe. Until now, the very existence of the children has remained largely an untold story, buried along with those who died between 1915 and 1916. But their family members are slowly uncovering the stories of those Armenian orphans. The issue still remains extremely contentious, and the story of Armenian orphans is now becoming one of most sensitive and emotionally charged issues in Turkish society. Producer Dorian Jones exposes how descendants of Armenian orphans are discovering their family histories.

January 2

Hospice Chronicles: Joe and RogerIn 1967, St. Christopher's Hospice – the first modern hospice – opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have chosen hospice at the end of their lives, with many patients choosing to receive care in their homes. In Hospice Chronicles: Joe and Roger, team Long Haul follows Joe, a volunteer trained in "respite care", giving family members a break from caretaking responsibilities. As Joe, a Buddhist, engages Roger, a devout Christian, in discussions of death and (im)mortality, he finds himself exploring death in a way for which training could not have prepared him.

A Complicated FriendshipCanadian producer Frank Faulk has an unusual - but long running - friendship with a fundamentalist preacher in Kentucky. They may disagree on just about everything, but their friendship is solid. This program comes to us from the CBC and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries. It won a Silver Medal at the 2005 New York Festivals.

December 2008

December 26

A Little Before 'Tis DayThere is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.

A Trilogy of Holiday TraditionsThe holiday season is a time of traditions sometimes nostalgic, sometimes quirky. In this program, three public radio listeners share their holiday stories. Cameron Phillips takes us inside the wonderful and horrible world of craft shows. Cathy De Rubeis tests out a special fruitcake recipe to see if she can reverse the backlash to the holiday dessert. And all her life, in all the places she's lived, Caroline Woodward has found a way to sing - from anxiously performing Christmas carol solos on stage as a young girl to feeling joy and zest today with her choir. This program was produced by Iris Yudai and Steve Wadhams from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series Outfront. This program is part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

December 19

MeltdownMoving at glacier pace once meant to move hardly at all. No longer. Scientists in Greenland and in Peru are watching glaciers rapidly move forward or retreat, and even disappear at historic rates. Producer Dan Grossman follows several teams as they record the meltdown of some of the world's largestt glaciers.

Watershed 263In urban areas across the country, trees and grass have been replaced with pavement and concrete. Storm water runoff from these paved surfaces in cities can be saturated with harmful substances such as gasoline, oil and trash. We head to the inner city of Baltimore where partners have joined forces to clean up the runoff flowing into the harbor and into the Chesapeake Bay, and at the same time to improve the quality of life for the residents living there.

December 12

Who's Got the Dog?Divorce has an immediate impact on family and friends beyond the couple and their children. Marcia Sheinberg of the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy in NY says that the crisis that a divorce creates in the wider network of relationships has been underexplored. It underscores the fact that divorce is more traumatic than we as a society acknowledge. It is not the quick paper solution of a society which discards and moves on all to easily.
The program explores the ripple effects of divorce – how divorce has an impact far beyond the immediate family. In part, this is personal reflection from the producer's own divorce -- Kampfner discovered that there were people who were shocked, in pain and grieving about her family break up and that she felt obligated to console and reassure them. It both made her feel guilty and blessed to know that we are more closely bound to a wide orbit of friends and relatives than we realize. Who’s Got the Dog? will look at how we think we live only in nuclear families, but are actually tied to a community and it often takes a crisis to realize this.

Picture from a late-1990's Halloween in Chicago of Milo the Bee, with Alex as Toto's human and Max as Dogbert's human.

From Brooklyn to Banja LukaAn interesting cross cultural relationship that spans New York, Banja Luka and Amsterdam. Jonathan is a loud New Yorker, a Brooklyn Jew who has been living in Holland for 13 years. He has joint Dutch US nationality, speaks fluent Dutch, and yet remains essentially his boisterous loud American self. He is married to Dragana, a Serbian from Banja Luka, who came here in the midst of the Bosnian war and remains deeply affected by the war and its after effects in her country. They met at a party in Amsterdam ten years ago and have been together ever since. They now have a young trilingual son. The two have much in common - they're clever, loud, extravagant people from musical backgrounds. But she has a Slavic melancholia that contrasts with his wisecracking Jewish humour. In this program, they discuss their different cultures, how they feel being such big personalities living in a country that doesn't seem at first glance particularly suited to their ethnic backgrounds and character, and also the nature of their tempestuous relationship. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

December 6

HPV and MenHuman papillomavirus, or HPV, is the cause of most cervical cancer in women, and many girls are being vaccinated against the virus. Now researchers for new vaccines are targeting men. Sarah McCammon, of NET Radio in Nebraska, explains how easily men can pass the virus to their sexual partners even if they themselves remain healthy, and why vaccinating young people of both genders could be beneficial in reducing the spread of the virus.

The photograph showing the DNA of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) was provided, with permission, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2010.

December 5

HPV - the Shy VirusThe Human Papillomavirus - or HPV - is a common virus that touches billions of human beings in one way or another - from a tiny wart on the hand to invasive cancer. HPV is a major health threat worldwide, yet mostly harmless. The virus can "hide" for years from a person's immune system - with no apparent ill effects - then awaken and create deadly disease. This is the story of a virus that often doesn't act as scientists expect it to - a puzzling, paradoxical virus. HPV, the Shy Virus is part of the series "World of Viruses".

The photograph showing the structure of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), is provided with permission by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln/ Angie Fox, illustrator/ 2009.

AIDS in HaitiIn Haiti, it's not hard to find people who have been touched by HIV. Over 30,000 people died from the disease in 2002. The stories of those who survive draw a portrait of a country in turmoil a mother in a rural countryside already overwhelmed by poverty and disease; sex workers who must decide every night whether to risk condom free sex; and HIV positive family members who still feel a lingering stigma. The prognosis for Haiti's response to the disease still remains elusive. Yet doctors firmly believe that the tide is turning on the AIDS battle in Haiti. We visit centers where community-based work, such as research and treatment, is carried out daily. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

November 2008

November 28

Wrapping Dreams in LavenderGregory was only five when he knew he should have been born a girl. But it took till his mid-50s to harness the courage to become Susan. The gender he knew he was in his brain was different to the sex of his genitals. This is now known to be a medical rather than psychological condition but is still commonly confused with cross-dressing - where people dress as the opposite sex to fulfil a psychological need. For Susan this diagnosis of transsexualism was a godsend. But for Mary, his wife, it was devastating.
This program was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Media Awards for Radio.

God Knows WhyWhy does a woman give up her life to enter a world that many of us cannot comprehend, the closed order of the Carmelites?
Outgoing, attractive Aunty Janny knew 42 years ago, at the age of twenty, that she had a special calling, to lock herself away from the modern world and leave all that she knew behind. She entered the closed order of the Catholic Carmelite nuns where she swore herself to three vows, Chastity, Poverty and Obedience, and never to live in the outside world again. Janny has physically hugged her brothers once in 42 years and her sister on only a couple of occasions.
Aunty Janny or Sister Johanna of the Cross, as she is formally known, has chosen a world that many of us cannot comprehend, a world totally devoted to God in which she prays for the salvation of us all.
Her brother Denver struggles with his sister's decision and feels she could have been the head of any corporation had she, in his eyes, not wasted her life behind those walls. However, her younger sister Maryanne understands the faith that drove her sister to do what she has done and believes the power of prayer could be the salvation of us all.

November 21

When the Snow Melts on SvalbardSnowy peaks, untouched wilderness as far as the eye can see -- the Svalbard archipelago, at 79° North, is a focal point of the world's Arctic research. Polar regions play a key role in regulating our climate. The are also the most sensitive to change. Just 750 miles from the North Pole, scientists from all over the world monitor what's happening to our climate and how changes affect life on our planet. Join Radio Deutsche-Welle producer Irene Quaile, as she tours Koldewey Station in the Svalbard archipelago as part of Pole to Pole, an international media celebration of the International Polar Year, produced with support from the National Science Foundation.

New Norcia: The Monastery and the ObservatoryIn Western Australia, there's a small and somewhat surreal town called New Norcia. It's Australia's only Monastic town - with a surprising and imposing collection of Spanish style buildings. New Norcia was established in the 1850s as a 'Spanish Benedictine Monastery.' Today, a handful of monks continue the ancient tradition of prayer, work and service in their search for God. Now, New Norcia is also the home to one of the European Space Agency's largest tracking stations. A monastery next to an observatory might seem incongruous, however these neighbors have forged an unlikely understanding. Both groups are exploring the riddle of existence and space, in different ways. This program was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

November 14

The Music HouseMusic is the life-blood of the Baka Pygmies, the rainforest people of the Cameroon. They use music to enchant the animals of the forest before the hunt, to cure illnesses and to overcome disputes. Everyone sings and plays and there is no sense of performer and audience. The Euro-African band 'Baka Beyond' have been making music inspired by their visits to the Baka for over ten years. On this visit, at the request of the Baka, the band are taking an English timber-frame specialist to build a music house for them, paid for
with royalties from Baka Beyond's recordings. In this program, Producer Eka Morgan travels to the forest to meet the Baka and members of the band while they build the music house.

Gore's Great Art CoupThe small rural town of Gore on New Zealand's South Island, recently managed to secure the art collection of the renowned sexologist and academic John Money. John Money gained international recognition for his ground-breaking work at Johns Hopkins University and for his early championing of the New Zealand 20th century author, the late Janet Frame. This program, from Radio New Zealand, tells the story of how the director of a tiny regional art gallery managed to convince a town, known mainly for its sheep and gold mining past, to accept a renowned art collection and have it relocated from Money's flat in a rundown area of Baltimore. Gore's Great Art Coup airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

November 7

Watching the TreesI'm siting in a park looking at the trees. Above me attached to a lamp post there's a camera watching trees. Another camera is pointed at other people who also may be looking at trees. The cameras are running 24/7. I know this because there's a council sign near the camera telling me so. Behind me there's another larger council sign warning that tree killers face a fine of $1 million . I read that a couple of times: $1 million? Yes, they really mean $1 million.
In Sydney, a city with some of the highest real estate prices in the world, a tree blocking a water view can reduce the value of a property by $200,000. Against a background of increasingly desperate council measures to stop tree poisoning, "Watching the Trees" explores how humans' relationships with trees continues to evolve as the green movement engages with real estate in the 21st century.

Cities of the PlainUrban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

October 2008

October 31

The BattlersThis documentary takes us deep into the experience of Australia's urban poor. We accompany the volunteers of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, past the million dollar real estate, the mansions, swimming pools and harbor views of Sydney's eastern suburbs, into the homes and lives of the real battlers - people unable to afford to keep a roof over their heads, or feed and clothe their children. This program comes to us from Producer Sharon Davis of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Our Daily BreadAn aural picture of a Baltimore neighborhood soup kitchen created through the stories of the lives of several regular customers. We are surrounded by the sounds of the streets that are their homes, and we share a sense of hope, despite the empty routine of merely getting through another day with a stop at the soup kitchen.

October 24

First Do No HarmFirst Do No Harm is a cautionary tale of two countries, two doctors, and two families. The story surrounds families who lost children, only to have their lives torn apart by criminal investigations, accusing them of murdering their children. The cases involved Dr. Charles Smith, then head of the pediatric forensic pathology unit at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto and a so-called expert witness in those children's deaths in Canada. And in the UK, Dr. Sir Roy Meadow, a former president of the British Pediatric Association, also a distinguished expert witness. A look at what went wrong and what's being done to right them in both countries. This program was produced by Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

IntersexA group of women talk of their experiences with a rare condition - intersexuality. They are women who have the male XY chromosome. One was forcibly raised as a boy. One only found out about her condition accidentally when she was a teenager. And one was kept in the dark about it deliberately by doctors. About one baby in 20,000 infants is born intersex. Often these infants can be clearly seen to belong to one sex, but a small percentage of them are born with ambiguous genitalia and in the past, doctors made a unilateral decision about which sex they thought the child belonged to. Sometimes they even performed surgery without properly consulting or informing the parents. That practice has been banned in the Netherlands but although medical personnel and lay people are more open to variations in sexuality these days, people with an intersex condition still find the subject very difficult to bring up. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

October 17

Citizenship DiaryHow many stars and how many stripes and what do they mean? You need to know this and many more flag questions to pass the US Naturalization test. Judith Kampfner recorded an audio diary about the process of becoming an American citizen, and about what it was like taking on a second identity. Was it a betrayal of her British roots? Or was it a very logical step to take for someone who thinks of herself as in internationalist? Many more people are becoming dual or multiple citizens today as more countries accept the idea - Mexico, Columbia and the Dominican Republic for instance. Does this dilute the concept of citizenship? Indeed perhaps we are less likely to identify ourselves as citizens today because we are part of a global culture and travel more. Kampfner discovers that going through the paperwork, the test and the ceremony does not help her feel American - that is something she and all the others who are processed have to do for themselves.

Girls Like UsMarisela and Yadira immigrated illegally to the United States as small children. Marisela, who immigrated when she was 7, remembers crossing over the border while lying in the back of a truck. Yadira, who was 3 when she crossed, remembers nothing of her entry into the U.S. Her first memories are of life in California. After their families moved to Denver, Colorado, the two young women met in middle school. Both went on to become star students in high school – AP classes, top ten percent of their class – and recruiters from Colorado colleges were telling them that they would bend over backwards to snag students like them. But of course they had a big problem, which they were afraid to share: They didn’t have Social Security numbers. This meant that they didn't qualify for any federal aid, or for most private scholarships. “Girls Like Us” is the story of two young girls trying to get into college in a country where they are undocumented.

October 10

For the Glory of the GameProducer Sam Levene of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents this documentary about a league of base ball
(that's 2 words) enthusiasts who play the game the
way it was first devised in the mid 19th century.
Across the U.S. and Canada, teams regularly meet in period
costume, and without gloves to play a polite, very
gentlemanly (and womanly) version of the game
that's become America's favorite sport. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Last OutIf you are a baseball junkie, this program is for you. Producers Moira Rankin and Dan Collison explore the baseball fan's addiction to the game as they follow two die-hard enthusiasts to see how they endure the off-season in anticipation of the spring.

October 3

Tuning into the EnemyBetween the mid seventies and the early nineteen nighties, Paul Erasmus was a secret police official in South Africa. His unit was responsible for what he calls dirty tricks, which included arson, sabotage, theft, discrediting people, illegal phone tapping, and firebombing. Then, before apartheid ended, he went in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to confess to 500 offenses and 80 serious crimes and was granted partial amnesty in 2000.
Paul Erasmus attributes his return of conscience, in part, to the realisation that he had destroyed the career of a musician whose work, talent and passion he grew to admire and love.
Over time, a strange kind of respect and even friendship has developed between Roger Lucey, a political singer, and his former tormentor. Their new relationship is one example of the reconciliation that was part of the political achievement of post apartheid South Africa.

Triads and FilmEnter the Hong Kong Triad "Underworld", where actors, directors, and police describe the Triad control of the film industry in the 1990s when a whole series of murders, beatings and dodgy dealings went down. That's when the Triad techniques of persuasion allegedly came into play - extortion, blackmail, beatings, rape - to get actors and stunt men to appear in their flicks. Eventually the actors had enough and campaigned against the violence. In “Triads and Film”, Producer Sarah Passmore of Radio Television Hong Kong looks at the current situation in the Hong Kong film industry to see the extent to which it may have broken free of these groups, and how much Triads are still involved in the entertainment industry. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

September 2008

September 26

Educating EmilyTwelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Teaching: The Next GenerationIn conversations about the use of technology in schools, what you'll often hear is: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom. The program also explores Mr. Mason's approach to teaching by testing his theories about "what works" against the opinions of education experts. Producer Richard Paul brings us "Teaching: The Next Generation." This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

September 19

Fishing for My Master: Slavery in GhanaAll along Ghana's Cape coast, the old granite fortresses are now museums, bitter reminders of the colonial slave trade. Grim-faced tourists pay to see the musty dungeons, rattle the rusting chains, and open the doors that led to the slave ships.
But just down the road from the Cape Coast museums, slavery isn't about roots and it isn't about history. Today in Ghana, somewhere between five and seven thousand children ply the waters of Lake Volta, fishing. They have masters.
They don't get paid. They don't go to school. And if they try to escape they are beaten. The going rate to buy a five-year-old child is ten dollars - cheaper now than it was 200 years ago when people were being loaded onto ships.
The story of modern child slavery in Ghana isn't straightforward or simple. Even the villains of the piece have a case. It's a story of trade-offs between development and grinding poverty, between school and food, between children and parents and police. There is no quick-fix and no easy ending here.
In the middle of it, an unassuming man named Jack Dawson uses whatever transportation he can find - rusty van, old bicycle, strong feet - to take him to where the child slaves are. So he can begin the extremely delicate process of trying to save at least a few of them. It's in the bustling marketplace of Yeji, a city on the shores of the man-made Lake Volta, that the children are first sold. And that's where CBC producer David Gutnick begins his documentary, called: Fishing for My Master.

The Orphan Train"The Orphan Train" is an unnarrated documentary about one of the least known and yet most significant social experiments in American history. In September 1854, the first "orphan train" carried 46 homeless children from New York City to far off homes to become laborers in the pioneer West. It was the first step in what was to become the emigration of as many as 250,000 orphan children to new homes throughout the entire United States. Some children found kind homes and families, others were overworked and abused. Widely duplicated throughout its 75 year history, the original orphan train was the creation and life project of the now forgotten man who was to become the father of American child welfare policy. This documentary features interviews with surviving orphan train riders, as well as readings from historical newspapers, letters and journals, and is laced with classical and folk music.

September 12

Running with AtalantaTen years ago, two young women were studying law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte – a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam.
The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare – a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man.
Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Try Not to BreatheIt happens more than once, but you can't quite see his face. Sometimes, the sound of the wind outside your bedroom window turns into a tuneless but determined whistle. Then the robberies start.
Therese (not her real name) takes it very seriously. She reports each incident to the police, and investigates herself. She comes to the conclusion that she is being stalked. Months later, the man she suspects is in court - and irrefutably linked to her break-ins - but do the charges reflect his crimes? Producer Lea Redfern of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation follows this complex story, interviewing several women who are watching this case carefully, and hoping for justice. This program is part of our international documentary series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 5

The Wendy Workers and the Chicken CatchersLeonisa Rubis is a very happy young woman these days. She's homesick for the Philippines, but she's making more money than she ever thought possible. She's working at Wendy's, serving combo meals and diet cokes, in Gibson's Landing on the Sunshine Coast of BC. That's why she came to Canada. That's why she was allowed to come to Canada. The first thing she said when she got off the plane - "I am Wendy Worker". But - if things go badly at Wendy's - she can't quit or go to work anywhere else and, at the end of 2 years, she'll be shipped back to the Philippines. She is one of a new breed - unskilled men and women - cleaning hotel rooms, working construction and flipping burgers - who are here as Temporary Foreign Workers. Canada didn't used to do this. When they needed hired hands to break the soil on the prairies, sawmill workers in BC, factory workers in Ontario – they took immigrants who came for life. Not any more. When it comes to sweat work, Canada will give you two years and then send you back where you came from. They call this being a guest worker. British Columbia will bring in at least 45,000 guest workers this year. That's the highest per capita number in Canada. They come in on nearly every plane at the Vancouver airport. The Wendy Workers and the Chicken Catchers was produced by Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Something's Happening HereA trickle of humanity is showing up at Canadian border crossings: U.S. military deserters who don't want to fight in Iraq. And they are asking Canada for refuge, as it once was during the Vietnam War. Over the decades, many things have changed; there was a draft then, none now---at least not yet. But today's war resisters are not that different from the ones who came before. Their stories are wrapped up in the politics of Canada-US relations - in soul-wrenching deliberations and life-changing decisions - in the intense interplay of the forces of love, and family and country. This program comes to us from Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

August 2008

August 29

Sneak OutIn the 1960's, in California, African American parents set up an elaborate ruse to get their children a better education. Restricted to poor schools in low income East Palo Alto, outside of San Francisco, parents looked across the freeway and devised a way to send their children to wealthy Palo Alto schools. A young mother, barely educated herself, organized the Sneak Out program. Working with white parents, the program was a modern day Underground Railroad. KQED FM's Kathy Baron paints a portrait of conducters and passengers, students and safe houses in the fight to end school segregation.

The High Stakes of Today's TestingStandardized tests have been around for years in the United States. What's different now is that schools and teachers are being held accountable for the results of these tests. Add to that new federal legislation, and the stakes are raised even higher, with threats of federal funding being cut off to underachieving school districts. Then there is the question of how and what the children are being tested on. Producer Katie Gott follows the paths of two failing schools, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, to understand how each state applies its testing policy, and how testing impacts schools, teachers, parents and children. What happens if these schools don't make the grade after the scores are in? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

August 22

Gut ReactionThere is a disease you've probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn't know. Doctors now believe that one in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only one in 4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac Disease is an intestinal disorder where, when you eat wheat, barley or rye, your immune system attacks the food as if it were a virus. The results are devastating and painful. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only two or three years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors. Producer Richard Paul presents the story of how Celiac Disease played itself out in the lives of 10 people.

Sunshine and DarknessXeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic mutation with a number of implications. It can be life threatening. It diminishes the body's resistance to UV waves. People with XP can't tolerate sunlight. The older they get, the worse the problem becomes. People with XP have to be completely covered up before they go out, and even inside they live with curtains drawn. The disorder also creates a bubble around the person with XP, their family and friends. Often isolated, even in school, their connection to the world is tenuous.
Today, that isolation is breaking down. Producer Marti Covington reports on how schools, families and technology are helping people with this rare disorder (only 125 people in the United States have it) connect with the world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

August 15

Children of the HatedDuring the Second World War, an estimated 10,000
children were born in Norway out of liaisons
between occupying German soldiers and local
women. The Nazis had set up special Lebensborn
homes where these liaisons could take place and
where single mothers and their babies could stay.
After the war life became hell for most of these
Norwegian women and their children. Producer Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands brings us Children of the Hated. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

My Father's IslandIn the 1930s, five German brothers fled Nazi Germany and set sail for the Galapagos to live a Robinson Crusoe lifestyle. The Angermeyers were exotic and eccentric, and among the first permanent settlers. Through the memories of Joanna and other family members, Producer Ruth Evans of the BBC uncovers the family history and their links with the Galapagos. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

August 8

The Long Road HomeWith no choice other than to leave their home, Chandra and Roy fled to India from Pakistan. They left behind their friends, jobs, and their house. Living in India for the past decade, producer Shivani Sharma takes them back to Pakistan to see if there's anything left coming home to.

Making a Home for RefugeesIn 'Making a Home for Refugees' BBC producer Esther Armah
reports from Hull in the north east of England.
Traditionally Hull has had only a very small
ethnic community numbering some 300 Chinese, so
there was considerable suspicion when the local
council agreed to accept around 250 Iraqi Kurds,
under the British government's dispersal
programme. In fact between 1,500 and 3,000
arrived in the city, as a result of a deal done
by private landlords. Initially there were
incidents of violence and racial abuse, even
today there are occasional attacks. But as
Esther discovered, despite lingering prejudice,
there is a growing acceptance of these refugees
and asylum-seekers. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration series Global Perspectives: Looking for Home.

August 1

The ColonyThe Colony began as a hostel in Jerusalem in 1902
during the Ottoman empire. Later on it became a
hotel on the advice of Baron Von Ustinov. The
history of the colony is inextricably linked to
the history of the city itself. It was here in
room 16 that the secret talks leading to Oslo
accords were held. Over the years the hotel
became a place where Christians, Jews and Arabs
could sit together in peace, away from the
tensions of the violent city. Producer Mandy Cunningham of the BBC presents The Colony, as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Detroit DialogueLike many American cities, Detroit has survived cycles of decay and renewal. Producer Susan Davis invites you to lunch with a group of long-time friends and former neighbors--six local women, spanning two generations, three of them African-American, three of them Jewish. Listen as they share their memories of neighborhoods and a time when the city's racial divide could be conquered over a backyard fence or a kitchen table. They talk about what it means to build a real sense of community, and how easily it can be lost, as well as their hopes and dreams for the city's future.

July 2008

July 25

Temple ProstitutesTemple Prostitutes
A group of former devadasis - or Temple Prostitutes - are fighting to eradicate a
centuries-old Hindu tradition which turns them into prostitutes. Originally,
devadasi were celibate dancing girls used in temple ceremonies and they entertained
members of the ruling class. But sometime around the 6th Century, the practice of
"dedicating" girls to Hindu gods became prevalent in a practise that developed into
ritualised prostitution.
The girls are mainly of the lowest class, 'untouchables,' and their fight is the
ultimate clash of ancient and modern culture in India. The prevalence of the
devadasi tradition in parts of Southern India, in particular, means that social
acceptance of sex work in Karnataka State is common with devastating consequences
for the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Hear the heart-wrenching story of Joythi, a young 'devadasi' or temple prostitute.
Joythi, her two small children, and her entire family depend on the income she
receives from bestowing her divine gift on her clients. But the truth is that she is
no more than a common prostitute, and as such is in a very dangerous profession.
Award-winning documentary-maker Kati Whitaker travels to the south of India to meet
Joythi - and the small group of former devadasis who are trying to persuade her to
leave the profession.

Practicing Emptiness'Women sell themselves short doing things they hate in search of money or security or emotional
fulfillment,' says writer Carmen Delzell. For some this means staying in a bad marriage, to keep a roof
overhead or for the children's sake; for some it means prostitution. Delzell shares conversations with
women of diverse backgrounds -- a former prostitute, a woman who has suffered an abusive marriage,
an exotic dancer -- and reveals the threads that bind their experiences, and those of all women,
together.

July 18

Sycamore TreeFiona was randomly and violently sexually assaulted at the age of seven; Helen was sexually abused by her father, and later her stepfather. Both are sick and tired of sleepless nights and living in fear, and have turned to the Sycamore Tree Project in an attempt to move on.
The Sycamore Tree Project is a faith based, restorative justice program, where victims visit unrelated offenders in prison over a period of months to discuss crime and its ongoing effect on victims. Victims are given a platform to describe their pain, fear and loss. Offenders are encouraged to share their stories, to accept responsibility for their crime and to consider ways in which they might make restitution to their particular victims.
Sycamore Tree was produced by Kirsti Melville of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Goalkeepers of Sierra LeoneThe United Nations has labeled Sierra Leone the worst place on earth to live. The final peace accord in an 11-year civil war was signed two years ago. There is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, often traveling the country in rowboats and on foot, and an internationally funded Special Court has been built in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. One of the hallmarks of the civil war there was the practice of amputating the limbs of your enemy. There is, in fact, now an entire soccer team in Freetown made up of amputees. Those who had a leg cut off play on the field; men who kept their legs but lost their arms play goal. The team has more in common than missing limbs; they are all intensely interested in the ongoing trials at the Special Court. They want to know what happens to the people ultimately responsible for their missing limbs. In Karin Wells' documentary “The Goalkeepers of Sierra Leone", part of the CBC's "Africa After the Wars" series, she travels to a town where thousands of people have been the victims of amputations. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. It won a Gold Medal at the 2005 New York Festivals.

July 11

Green Tea and LandminesThe streets of Mae Sot, on the Thai Burma border, are full of stories of loss and death and flight. About two and a half million Burmese have fled their country for Thailand, Burma remains one of the poorest countries in the world, and the protests against the military dictatorship have done little to change peoples' lives. In this episode, Nicole Steinke of the Australian broadcasting Corporation visits the extraordinary haven of Dr Cynthia Maung's Mae Tao Clinic. Funded mainly by foreign donations, Mae Tao Clinic runs the training center for the Backpack Medical Teams and the Free Burma Rangers, both of whom illegally cross the border back into Burma to help the country's ethnic minorities survive the onslaught of the Burmese military.
The Clinic is also where people come to vaccinate their babies, to be treated for malaria or cholera, or to receive a prosthetic -- many of the refugees fleeing the Burmese military have been forced to act as unwilling porters, or even as human landmine detectors.
We also meet long-time political prisoners, ethnic Burmese working to help their own people in their struggle against the Burmese military, and children who have crossed the border alone.

Before the War it Was the WarIn the recent Middle Eastern conflict between the Lebanese guerilla organization Hezbollah and the state of Israel, one man took it upon himself to 'resist with his pen', to bear witness for his people and bring the world 'the real news from Beirut.' His name is Mazen Kerbaj, a young musician and comic illustrator whose impromptu blog site reached tens of thousands of people. The bombing of Lebanon has ceased but his blog-site continues. Producers Anna Burns and Nicole Steinke of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation give a vivid audio recreation of Mazen’s blog-site and of everyday life inside a war zone. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

July 4

Birthday SuitJanet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country.
Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped.
Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time?

The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment".
I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections.

Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less?
And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm?
And then how hygenic really are these places?
At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule.
And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen.
It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic.
Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'?

Brazilian BeautyIn a world where just about everyone is concerned about their different shapes, sizes and colors producer Ilana Rehavia takes us from the beaches to the countryside of Brazil to see what the people have to say.

June 2008

June 27

Mediums, not RareIt's a small village in the rolling hills of southwestern New York.
Perched on the edge of a tranquil lake, it's a place where a stranger is
made to feel welcome. The friendly people who live here are doctors,
teachers, accountants, artists. Plain folks -- who talk to the dead.
Welcome to Lily Dale, the home base of Spiritualism -- a uniquely
"made-in-America" religion in which communication with the dead is both
possible and desirable. Founded in 1879, Lily Dale is North America's
oldest community of Spiritualists and Mediums. With its roots in the
radical and socially progressive movements of the late 19th century, it
began as a summer campsite for all who shared the Spiritualist vision of
universal equality and harmony. The tents and temporary shelters that
dotted the grounds soon gave way to permanent homes, and today Lily Dale
has a population of over 400. During the summer months, Lily Dale
attracts over 20,000 visitors. They come for workshops, seminars, and
lectures on communicating with the dead. It was a natural for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producer Frank Faulk. His documentary is called Mediums, Not
Rare.

The Lucky Secret to SuccessMany Hong Kongers believe that a person’s success is governed by five factors. These are, in order of importance: fate/destiny, luck, feng shui, good deeds/virtues, and hard work/study.
For the city that’s known for its competitive business culture, assiduous students, and industrious people; it seems surprising that hard work comes at the bottom of the list and more importance is attributed to external factors facilitating success.
So are Hong Kongers successfully lucky or luckily successful?
Erin Bowland of Radio Television Hong Kong explores the culture that is full of superstitions, rituals and beliefs revolving around the pursuit of success. This program was produced by Radio Television Hong Kong as part of our Global Perspective series on belief.

June 20

Touchstones of RealityHaving a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder isn’t easy for patients, or for their families. In the early days of mental illness, the pressures can tear families apart, and many of them don't know where to turn. As patients and caretakers age, things can get even tougher. While mental health services may provide some support, it's often family members who remain the only "touchstones of reality" for the person suffering with a severe mental illness. Producer Jean Snedegar speaks to several families who face the difficult challenge of supporting their mentally ill family members throughout the course of their lives.

Lost in AmericaFour people living on the edge--drug addicts, a prostitute and a blind woman--recount their journeys to a new life, revealing the connections between home and homelessness along the way. Producer Helen Borten brings us "Lost in America." This program won an EMMA award from the National Women's Political Caucus for Best Radio Documentary.

June 13

A Bird in the HandAvian Flu has hit many Asian countries, but Hong Kong, where the disease first spread to humans, has not been affected. Still, there are increasing calls to end the sale of live chickens which are chosen and killed at markets and shops across the city. Should Hong Kong stop the sale of freshly slaughtered chicken? Scientists agree this simple public health measure would reduce the risk of a worldwide pandemic which has killed tens of millions. But what if that measure goes against habit, culture and tradition; and what if no one can calculate the risk? How much is a bird in the hand really worth? Producers Hugh Chiverton and Sophia Yow of Radio Television Hong Kong present A Bird in the Hand as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Will The Banana Split?Producer Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation takes us on a lively and hilarious, but informative examination of the banana. Its history (it could soon be extinct), its biology(it is sexless), its myths (you CAN keep bananas in the refrigerator), and its impact on popular culture, everything from Chiquita Banana, and Monty Python to The Simpsons. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

June 6

The Color of ShakespeareAt countless times in America, and for countless groups of citizens, the question has come up: Who "owns" Shakespeare? Who is it meant for, and to whom does it mean what? This is a particularly poignant question in the case of African-Americans, whom some have sought to exclude from the Bard's work. This story looks at minstrel show parodies of Shakespeare, color-blind casting of Shakespeare, and the African-American experience with Shakespeare. Produced by Richard Paul and narrated by Sam Waterston, The Color of Shakespeare was made possible with support from the Folger Library.

Living History in Colonial WilliamsburgStep back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, following a woman whose job it is to play an 18th slave character in Colonial Williamsburg; a woman who must learn, in 2004, to interpret and recreate 1770 slave culture for a tourist audience. The story is told through this character's own narration and reflection, her interaction with other historical characters and with the tourist public in Williamsburg, and through documentation of her daily tasks. As she steps in and out of character, we discover what it's like to step in and out of history: re-enacting the mundanities and tensions of 18th century life in the fields and kitchens during the day and negotiating a modern 21st century life after visiting hours.

May 2008

May 30

EpiphanyIn this program, producer Richard Paul examines the roots of hatred in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and considers whether people of faith can ever reconcile those divisions. The world’s great monotheistic faiths share centuries-old traditions, but they are also locked in dangerous rivalries that permeate contemporary thought. Through the stories of three men raised to their religion's version of the truth, and distrust of the "other", this program probes that duality and confirms the power of faith to overcome legacies of hostility, illuminating ways that people work beyond hatred and stereotypes.

God IndifferentAccording to the 2006 census, more than a third of all New Zealanders claim to have no religion. Few, however, would agree to being called an atheist. For some, calling yourself an atheist is a certain path to derision. But for many, the term atheist just doesn’t accurately reflect their particular version of disbelief. Instead, they often opt for a different term: God Indifferent.
Producer Justin Gregory talks to three different people about their take on disbelief. Academic and unashamed atheist Dr. Bill Cooke, radical theologian and Presbyterian minister Professor Lloyd Geering (the only person to have been tried for heresy in New Zealand), and “constructive skeptic” Arch Thompson speak to the tradition and variety of atheism, the emerging trends of fundamentalism and indifference, and the possibilities for new forms of belief, free from gods or dogma. God Indifferent was produced by Radio New Zealand as a part of the Global Perspective series on belief.

May 23

War and ForgivenessMemorial Day is a day of remembrance of wars won and lost. Often, we think of the battles and the victories. At times, we consider the inevitable war crimes: the massacres, rapes and other atrocities. Rarely do we consider the perspectives of those who are responsible as well as those who are injured. In a special hour long documentary, War and Forgiveness, we present two sides of the equation: the victims and the perpetrators of wartime atrocities. WNYC, RADIO NETHERLANDS, and SOUNDPRINT have collaborated on a two part program that looks at women in Korea who were commandeered to have sex with Japanese soldiers during World War II and Dutch soldiers who carried out a torture campaign in Indonesia. As different as their stories are, they reach the same conclusion: the need for a moral apology from the government.

May 16

Living with the WaterWolfAfter Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, other populations living at or below sea-level have expressed heightened concern for their safety. In the Netherlands, much of the land is below sea level, and despite the complex system of pumps and levies, there's a long history of mass flooding. Michele Ernsting from Radio Netherlands Worldwide went in search of answers in preventing another national disaster. This program airs as part of the special international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

Code GreenCode Green explores the impact that hurricanes have on urban greencover, from integrating trees and wetlands into a city's infrastructure and disaster plan, to post-hurricane damage assessment of city trees and coastal marshes, to recovery and rebuilding. Hear from scientists, city planners and urban foresters about their work to establish, protect and restore the green infrastructure in the wake of catastrophic hurricanes, in coastal cities from Charleston to New Orleans. This program, from Producer Gemma Hooley, airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

May 9

Leaving a Mark: The Story of An Auschwitz SurvivorThis documentary features the story of Eva Schloss whose life bore remarkable parallels to that of Anne Frank. Eva Schloss was also 15 years old when she and her family were transported to Auschwitz. Like Anne Frank she also lost beloved family members in the death camp. However, unlike Anne Frank, she lived to tell the tale. After their liberation, Eva’s mother married Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Eva’s story takes up where the Anne Frank diary left off. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Silver UmbrellaLosing, searching, not always wanting to find
what we thought we were looking for. Hemingway's
lost manuscripts, a father's lost childhood, lost
talent, lost opportunities and a mysterious
silver umbrella. Stories of loss and memory are
played out on the European rail system and
interwoven in this feature by Natalie Kestecher of
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

May 2

Call me Nana It's a job they never expected. A club they never wanted to join. According to the Statistics Canada census released this week, there are more than 65,000 grandparents in Canada raising grandchildren on their own, without the parents present. They're called skipped generation families. And their number is growing by about a thousand every year.
Most of the grandparents - more than two thirds - are actually grandmothers and step-grandmothers. Women who have turned their lives upside down to parent for a second time. They do it because their grandchildren are at risk - abandoned or neglected, and destined to become wards of the state. Theirs are stories of love and devotion. But also of real struggle - physical, emotional and financial. These grandmothers are the subject of Alisa Siegel's documentary this morning called Call Me Nana.

Call Me Nana was produced by Alisa Siegel of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

Dear Birth MotherAfter waiting for Mr. Right (who has yet to arrive) – and after years of fertility treatments – Suzanne, a single woman in her forties, decided to adopt. She chose transracial adoption. We follow her through workshops designed to "teach white people to raise kids of color," baby-shopping trips with Mom at Target, a critical rendezvous with a young mother at a pancake house, and, finally, a magical night at a suburban restaurant chain. We followed Suzanne for several months as she waited to see if she would become a parent; she offered extraordinary access into her home, and really, into every aspect of her life.

April 2008

April 25

The Soybean WarsSoybeans, rows and rows of soybeans all around. In western Paraguay
the fields that were once thick rain forests are now soybean
plantations. They stretch far into the distance swaying hypnotically
back and forth in the wind. This ocean of soy, though, is dotted
with small islands--houses, actually, that belong to the subsistence
campensinos who once eked out a living farming an array of crops like
sugar, cotton, wheat, and maize. But now there is only industrial
harvested soy. And pesticides.
Soybeans, of course, have a very good reputation in the West (think tofu
and biofuels), but the reality is they have damaging repercussions in
developing nations where environmental laws are lax and local
populations are exploited by multinational corporations. Right now,
this is happening in Paraguay, the world's fastest growing soybean
producer.

The Bourbons, the Wampum and Boodle Boys, and Stalin's Mortimer SnerdIn 1948 the Democratic party faced extraordinary challenges: how to forge an alliance between Southern conservatives, Western progressives and big city labor; how to incorporate a civil rights plank; how to quell the rise of a third party. Truman, Dewey and Henry Wallace. It was a year of upsets. Producer Moira Rankin brings us the sense, and sounds, of that pivotol election year. And are there political and social lessons for this year's presidential contest to be learned from the election of '48.

April 18

Escape To New ZealandWarnings of global warming and climate instability are widespread in 2008.
Issues relating to the human influences on the global climate and the imminent likelihood of rising sea levels, the death of ancient forests, droughts, widespread agricultural failure, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the West Antarctic have set many on a path to find ways to escape these changes.
For some, the dire planetary predictions have influenced them to become active environmental refugees, seeking a home on some part of the planet where the global changes can, perhaps, be weathered.
In Escape to New Zealand, Radio NZ's Halina Ogonowska-Coates talks to four environmental refugees about their experiences in dealing with the issues facing our planet. This program airs as part of the international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

April in ParisEver since Ben Franklin fell in love with it and came home with tales of 'Gay Paree', Americans have
held to golden images of the city: the capital of eating and drinking, of glamorous night life, of
perfume. Even if we haven't been there we can see in our mind's eye the barges gliding along the Seine,
the lovers kissing in the streets and on park benches; we can smell the exotic cooking, and over it all we
can hear the wistful accordion music. But how much of all this is myth, how much reality? Producer
Alice Furlaud explores the question, starting with the myth that Vernon Duke created in his nostalgic
song, 'April in Paris'. Don't come in April, she advises, better wait 'til May.

April 11

Escape from Time"Lost Time is never found again." Benjamin Franklin wrote that, and producer Barbara Bogaev agrees. She tries daily to reconcile her time, "Barbara Time", with "Clock Time"; at the same time, she dreams of a life WITHOUT time. And really, who wouldn¹t like to escape the relentless march of time?
In that spirit, we consider various routes people take to Escape From Time. A neuroscientist explains the ways in which the brain stretches time in periods of stress and peak performance; a civil war re-enactor immerses himself so convincingly in the past that he achieves the elusive high known as "period rush"; and then we visit the ten thousand year clock -- a project devoted to looking ten thousand years into the future in order to gain perspective on the present.
Escape From Time was produced by Barbara Bogaev, with additional production by Queena Kim. The show was mixed by Jared Weissbrot. “Yew Piney Mountain” was performed by Appalachian Fiddler Lars Prillaman. Special thanks to Wide Awake Films, Alexander Rose of the Long Now Foundation, and Taylor Dupree at 12k for permission to use the song Solang by Sogar, from their album Apikal Blend. This program was produced as part of the international documentary exchange collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

After the ShotOn the night of April 14th 1865, in front of a thousand people at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Shouting ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ – ‘thus always to tyrants’, Booth believed that he was striking down a tyrant as surely as Brutus struck down Julius Caesar. Twelve days later Booth himself was shot dead in a barn in Virginia. From the moment Booth shot Lincoln, conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination have flourished – and 140 years later, for both historians and ordinary people, they are still very much alive. Some believe Booth was the ring leader of a small group; others are convinced he was simply a pawn in a grand conspiracy plot. While still others believe it wasn’t really Booth who died in that Virginia barn. Jean Snedegar tries to unravel the truth – and a myriad of legends - about the assassination of a great American president.

April 4

Knitting with Dog HairAn entertaining and informative look at knitting with dog hair, from its alleged origins in Catalonia to contemporary practice in Australia. This program will encourage listeners to look at their four legged friends in a new and creative light. Knitting with Dog Hair was produced by Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

RevengeIt seems we all love to hear revenge stories --
the petty ones and the grand -- even when they
are painful or the recipient is blameless. And we
seem to love to tell revenge stories about
ourselves -- even stories that make us look
childish or venal. Revenge visits the unspoken
dark place where revenge impulses lie through the
stories of people who have planned revenge and
those who have carried it out.

March 2008

March 28

After Graduation: Meeting Special NeedsMany learning disabled students are finding that they learn more readily with a variety of technology assistance and human support in their classrooms. But what happens once they leave school? Whether moving into the workforce, or on to higher education, most high school graduates discover they must adjust to new environments on their own and learn to advocate for themselves. Alyne Ellis takes a look at how some schools and universities are trying to ease the transition of learning disabled students to a life after graduation. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Equity in EducationBrown vs. the Board of Education was the 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared the old "separate but equal" policies of many school boards unconstitutional. Producer Kathy Baron takes a look at how far school systems have come over the past 50+ years in assuring equality for all students and whether technology plays a role in giving these students access. The Brown case triggered numerous court mediated desegregation policies around the country. Some school systems are only now emerging from court orders. Are schools for minority students now equal to those of primarily white students? And many higher education systems are facing a grim reality. In California university systems are not able to admit everyone who is eligible and a large percentage of incoming freshman are enrolled in remedial classes. Another major court case found that K-12 students in the state were not getting equal access to education. What, in fact, does an equal education look like? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

March 21

No Way OutAccording to official statistics, one woman a month is killed in the UK by her family in the name of honour, usually because she has rejected or tried to escape from a forced marriage, or has found a partner to love of her own choosing. But campaigners suspect that the figures are much higher, with women being driven to kill themselves out of desperation, or murders being disguised to look like suicide.
Though honour killing is sometimes thought to be a Muslim problem, it occurs in many patriarchal communities around the world, including Hindu, Sikh and Christian too.
Presenter Shazia Khan, talks to three women, one of them in hiding in fear of her life, about why they have become targets of such rage and threatened violence. And how the very people who they would have hoped would protect them have turned on them.
For the women who have challenged their family’s expectations there is a life-long price to pay, they can never relax, ‘No Way Out’. This program airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Global Perspectives: Escape!

The Reason I'm HereOver a four year period from 1988 to 1992, a serial rapist terrorized Calgary, Alberta. He was known as the Hemlock rapist. On June 20th, 2005, the rapist pled guilty, almost 17 years after the first attack. It was on that day, too, that his four victims met and spoke with each other for the first time.
In Canadian courts, the names of sexual assault victims are kept secret for two reasons: To encourage women to step forward freely, and to shield them from public scrutiny and judgment. But in the Hemlock case, two women insisted that the publication ban on their names be lifted. In so doing, they join a mere handful of victims of sexual assault who have chosen to go public with their stories. The two other victims chose to maintain the ban. One is too traumatized to speak at all.
Producer Jane Farrow of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents a story about three women, raped by the same man. Three women who made very different decisions - privately and publicly - about how to deal with the attack on their bodies and their lives. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

March 14

The Grass is GreenerGhana is an African country that is comparatively stable politically and economically, and yet large numbers of the population want to escape overseas to where they think ‘The Grass is Greener’. Ghanaians come back from working overseas and build grand houses and flaunt their wealth with new cars and the latest mobile phones, which makes the poor Ghanaians at home long to get a slice of a better paid job than they can hope for at home.
Presenter Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, of Joy FM radio station in Accra, has had his own taste of study and menial work in the UK, and is now content to be back in Ghana. But he meets young people who are still desperate to travel outside the country. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration, Global Perspectives:Escape.

Loida and Johanna go to Flin FlonWelcome to the small mining town of Flin Flon in Manitoba, Canada, founded in 1915 and swept by a wave of immigration a decade later with the arrival of the Canadian railway and miners from around the world. Eighty-five years later, the mine is mechanized. Wal-Mart has come to town. The wave of immigrants has been replaced by the arrival of the occasional foreigner. Now Flin Flon's immigrants are people the town desperately needs: doctors from South Africa, an accountant from Pakistan. This is the story of Loida and Johanna, two young Filipino nurses who come to Flin Flon. This program was produced by Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Looking for Home.

March 7

The Convict StreakBernie Matthews was a ‘serial escapee’ - the thought of incarceration too much to bear. Yet every time he escaped (6 in all), his sentence (for armed robbery) was extended, and the punishment made more severe. Until he escaped through the pen.
Bernie likens himself to the convict George Howe – one of the thousands of criminals transported to New South Wales between 1819 and 1848. ‘Happy George’, with no formal eduction became the first editor of The Sydney Gazette.
But these two men are the exceptions of their times. The life of a convict in early C19 Australia was gruelling and desperate, as it is for those incarcerated today. Punishment for Escaping included solitary confinement and being sent to the harshest of prison environments –Van Diemen’s land then and the Super max prisons now. Yet some still managed to get away…
The Convict Streak was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as part of the 2008 international documentary collaboration, Global Perspectives: Escape!

Across The Water: Journey to Robben IslandSouth African President Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison on Robben Island. Now the prison is closed and the island has become a museum, a fast growing tourist attraction in the new South Africa. Former political prisoners work alongside their former jailers as the new keepers of the island's history. It is perhaps one of the most tangible symbols of South Africa's miraculous transformation from apartheid to a multi-party democracy. But what about the personal transformations of those who continue to work on the island? Hear from some of the former prison wardens who continue to live and work there.

February 2008

February 29

Yellow and BlackTalk about taxis as a guilty pleasure! Whether it's riding in style on the streets of New York (avoiding the hustle, bustle, and pain of the Subway), or zipping across London's spiraling maze of cross-streets (never doubting your intrepid guide's sense of direction), producer Judith Kampfner takes us on a tour of Taxi drivers -- the rough-edged New York City cabbies, and the traditional, vintage hacks of London.

Songs of the AutomobileSongs of the Automobile explores U.S. culture through the national love affair with the car. Travel from coast to coast to visit hot-rodder enthusiasts, auto show junkies, and everyone else in between on this musical journey of unfolding car tales and anecdotes. From stories of that first purchase, to dating in the backseat, to the beloved car full of nostalgia rusting in the driveway, BBC producers Judith Kampfner and Roger Fenby take you on this lyrical cross-country radio road trip. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

February 22

SurvivorIn 1942 a US Navy destroyer was shipwrecked off Newfoundland. Of the few who survived, one man, Lanier Phillips, was black. The rescuers, never having seen a black man before, tried to scrub his skin clean and white. This is a story about growing up with fear in segregated Georgia, enlisting in a segregated navy, facing death in the icy North Atlantic, and a rescue which galvanized a man to fight racial discrimination.

A True BrotherA cautionary note to homophobes everywhere: Whoever you hate will end up in your family. This according to comedian Chris Rock, who points to real life for the evidence. Take Paul Burke. He's an Evangelical pastor with the Cornerstone Urban Church, in downtown Toronto. Paul Burke was fourteen when he learned that his older brother Timothy was a homosexual. Shocked and disgusted, Paul barely spoke to Timothy for fifteen years. And though he felt called by his faith to work with the poor, the outcasts, the marginalized in society, Paul felt only shame at having a gay brother. Then something shifted. Paul decided to call his brother, and ask for his forgiveness. Since that day, Paul and Timothy Burke have tried hard to build a relationship. In this documentary from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Paul and Timothy tell their story - from childhood in a religious white family in Jamaica, to the painful falling out and the struggle for reconciliation. This program was produced by Frank Faulk, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

February 15

The Spoken WordJoin us on a journey through the rich tradition of performance poetry, set in Washington DC's famous and eclectic U Street corridor. Our program takes you from memories of the live poetry clubs that emerged there in the 1960's, through the D.C. riots that saw venues closing down and artists scattering to the West Coast, to the modern day renaissance of the spoken word tradition. Our story is narrated by performance poets M'wili Yaw Askari, Toni Ashanti Lightfoot and Matthew Payne.

Going Home to the BluesPeople say going down south is like
going home. Take a trip to the
Mississippi Delta to find the true
meaning of the Blues.
Everyone has hard times throughout
their lives, but does that classify as
the Blues? Producers Askia Muhammed and
Debra Morris search for an answer while
going home.

February 8

Burning EmbersIn these days of big sticks, harsh words and war-talk, who couldn't use a little romance, a little love. Isn't that, as the song goes, what the world needs now. Well, in that spirit, we bring you the story of Sherman Hickey and Marie O'Toole. Theirs is a tale of innocence and desire that began almost seventy years ago. It's also a tale of unrequited passion and enduring devotion that only recently found its happy ending. This program comes to us from Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

The Sobbing CelebrantAustralian Broadcasting Corporation producer Natalie Kestecher thought it might be useful to have a few options up her sleeve if she ever decides to stop making radio documentary features. So she decided to become a Marriage Celebrant. Natalie enrolled in the first ever training course which, under new Australian legislation, all intending Celebrants must complete in order to be accredited.
Being a Celebrant is not just about saying the necessary words (which must always include 'I do') and ensuring the right forms are correctly filled in; it's also about devising meaningful ceremonies for a secular society. Theme weddings, butterfly releases, and quotes from 'The Prophet' are all popular. So what happens if you don't do themes, you hate 'The Prophet' and you think butterfly releases are yucky? Natalie spent a week coming to terms with the modern wedding. It turned out to be a week of introspection. 'The Sobbing Celebrant' offers an entertaining insight into the process that confers upon regular (or not so regular) citizens the right to officiate at the most significant moments in our lives. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

February 1

Body BazaarA few months ago, police in New York City announced that they had shut down a ring of body snatchers. The police alleged that criminals had been secretly using corpses bound for the cemetery or cremation, and removing bones, skin, tendons and veins for sale in a booming business of body parts. Many of the body parts were aged and riddled with disease. Possibly tainted tissues were implanted in people with dental problems, back pain, and burns. As many as ten thousand North Americans, maybe more, could be affected.
How could this happen in a sector of the medical industry that we assume to be tightly regulated? We asked Bob Carty to find out.
He found an industry that for many years, has been in fact lightly regulated. And he found the stories of two women - a daughter of one of the defiled corpses, and a Canadian recipient of such body parts - who have found themselves strangely connected in a macabre nightmare.

Beyond the MirrorA recent decision in the UK allowed the world’s first full facial transplants. The BBC's Kati Whitaker talks to three people about the impact of severe facial disfigurement and discovers what beliefs have helped them through their despair.
The face is our first point of contact with the world. But what happens if you lose your face to injury or disease?
Simon Weston suffered from burns in the Falklands war; Michele Simms had her face destroyed by a firework, and Diana Whybrew had half her face removed with a malignant tumor. Their belief in themselves has been challenged to its limits – down to a sense of who they are. This program was produced by the BBC World Service as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

January 2008

January 25

Who needs libraries?As more and more information is available on-line, as Amazon rolls out new software that allows anyone to find any passage in any book, an important question becomes: Who needs libraries anymore? Why does anyone need four walls filled with paper between covers? Surprisingly, they still do and in this program Producer Richard Paul explores why; looking at how university libraries, school libraries and public libraries have adapted to the new information world. This program airs as part of our ongoing series on education and technology, and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education.

Snacktime, Naptime, Computer TimeComputers in classrooms are a given in elementary
schools across the nation. Now new technology
initiatives are bringing computers into
preschools, driven by the assumption that if
children don't begin early, they fall behind.
But is this really true? And are computers
essential learning tools for very young minds?
How do very young children learn, how do their
brains develop, and does pointing, clicking and
hyperlinking affect their neurological and social
development? Early childhood education
specialists weigh in on a government funded
statewide program that aims to make toddlers
computer literate. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

January 18

Everest and BeyondA tribute to the extraordinary life and achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary. After his memorable conquest of Everest in 1953, this tall, craggy, modest man, added to his worldwide fame with expeditions to remote corners of the world and his activities serving the Sherpa people of Nepal. This New Zealand legend of the 20th century has lived life to the full – surviving personal tragedy as well as achieving historic triumphs and displaying tireless philanthropy. Produced by Jack Perkins of Radio New Zealand, ‘Everest And Beyond’ draws on the recollections of family, friends and colleagues of Sir Edmund Hillary and also uses audio from films shot in Nepal and India by documentary film maker Michael Dillon.

Throne of St.JamesIn a Washington, D.C. garage, James Hampton, a non- descript janitor by trade, started work on the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly. Built entirely out of discarded objects, this 180 piece sculpture was discovered after James' death in 1964. Considered by some to be one of the finest examples of American visionary religious art, the Throne resides at the Smithsonian. This is the story of The Throne of St. James. This program comes to us from Radio New Zealand and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 11

Deaf and ProudThis story focuses on people who choose to live inside the very powerful deaf culture and have no desire to be "fixed" so that they can be more like hearing people. It's a world most hearing people are unlikely to ever reach without the bridge of sign language.
It might come as a surprise to learn that deaf parents don't grieve, but rather celebrate the birth of a deaf child. (And that one of the most important lessons they must teach them is that passing wind in public makes noise!)

The World at Your FingertipsHelen Keller said that blindness separates a person from objects, and deafness separates that person from people. Without support, encouragement and education, the world of a deaf-blind person can be an isolated one of darkness and silence. In the documentary "The World at Your Fingertips" produced by Anna Yeadell of Radio Netherlands, we visit India where more than half a million people are deaf-blind. But with the help of Sense International and the Helen Keller Institute in Mumbai, many deaf-blind children and young adults are reaching out to the world around them, widening their horizons, and fulfilling their potential. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 4

Learning to Live: James' Story"Learning to Live: James' Story" documents the journey of James Robinson, a 38 year old ex-offender, as he makes the transition from repeated prison sentences to life in the free world. After a 7-year prison term, James arrives at St. Leonard's halfway house for ex-offenders in Chicago. He tells the staff that he needs to "learn to live," knowing full well how hard it is to transition back to society on his own. "James' Story" chronicles James' hard work over the course of ensuing three months; job training, drug counseling and 12-step support meetings. During his stay at the halfway house, James also finds his "dream" job and reconnects with family members, including an eighteen-year-old son he hadn't seen since the child was four.

Out of their handsTwenty five years ago, four stunned mothers who'd lost their
children, one an adult, one a teenager, the
others younger, were introduced at a Toronto
hospital by a chaplain. They found they could
talk to each other with more ease than to other
people. Their friendship grew to an organization,
Bereaved Parents of Ontario, that now has
hundreds of members. Producer Teresa Goff of the CBC brings us their stories and what the organization has done for
them. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

December 2007

December 28

Changing Spaces: Hampden, BaltimoreProducer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community.

The Changing Face of Neighborhood CrimeA look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

December 21

Mummers at the DoorLong before Santa, Bing Crosby and the Mattel Toy Company stole the occasion, even before Christianity itself kidnapped it, the Winter Solstice was celebrated with seasonal ritual. One ancient solstice custom is Mummering. Still practiced annually in many parts of England and Ireland, this great-grand-daddy of Halloween masquerade died out in much of Canada and the United States centuries ago. In North America today it is a popular part of Christmas now only in Newfoundland and Pennsylvania.

On any night during the twelve days of Christmas you may hear a pounding on your door and strange indrawn voices shouting outside: Any mummers allowed? Whether allowed or not, the mummers will tumble in, loud and masked and rowdy and possibly threatening, turning normal household decorum upside down. They may be friends or complete strangers, and unless you can guess their identities you cannot be sure who is behind the mask or whether their intentions are benign. They are certain to track muddy boots across your carpet, play music, demand drink and act outrageously. All over Newfoundland, these rough-and-tumble spirits of the ancient winter solstice have survived despite the religious and commercial hoopla of modern Christmas.

Photos courtesy of Paul Turner

Go Tell it on the MountainIt was born in the oral culture of African slaves in the American south. It was embraced by the civil rights movement in the 1960's. Today it is a perennial favorite at Christmas concerts and church services across North America. The spiritual Go Tell It on the Mountain has come to mean many things depending on the time and place in which it is sung - freedom anthem, hymn of faith, a simple song of Christmas. As is the case with most spirituals, its music and lyrics cannot be attributed to any one person. African American composer John Wesley Work is credited with formally adapting the song and including it in a songbook in 1907. But the versions of Go Tell it on the Mountain are as varied and distinctive as the people performing it. But it is always, at its heart, a song of joy. This program comes to us from Producer Jean Dalrymple of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

December 14

Bird SafeMuch of the bush (the NZ-English term for natural forest) in New Zealand is under the protection of conservation authorities and hunters must have bird-safe dogs before they can get a permit to hunt pig or deer in the East Coast Hawkes Bay Conservancy. Producer Jack Perkins joins hunting dogs and their owners as they attend a training course near Hastings, which teaches the dogs to avoid kiwis in the bush. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Born FreeBuilt on the site of a colonial era estate, the John Morony Correctional Complex in Sydney’s outer suburban fringe covers 300 acres and all the bases. There are minimum and maximum-security prisons for men, and a women’s prison. There is also accommodation for a seized crocodile, smuggled parrots, endangered snakes, crippled kangaroos and wounded wombats.
In the middle of an Australian summer the sprawling prison grounds are dry, bare and flat, and the whole complex is surrounded by high chain link fences topped with razor wire. Within this forbidding environment there lies an unlikely refuge, a literal sanctuary of green, with a lush garden, shady trees and plenty of water. The wildlife center is part animal hospital, part educational facility – and a congenial workplace for three correctional officers and ten minimum security male inmates.
Producer Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation takes listeners inside a jail to meet up with a group of men for whom working in a cage might even be fun. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

December 7

A Life of AshesThere are more than 40 million widows in India today – and for a large proportion of these women, their lives are what some have referred to as a living sati – a reference to the now outlawed practice of widow burning. A woman’s diet, dress, and even sexuality all suddenly become part of the public realm the moment her husband dies.
Producer Dheera Sujan is an Indian herself and the daughter of a widow. In A Life of Ashes she weaves her own experiences with those of the women she met.

Trapped on the Wrong Side of HistoryIn 1939, California farm girl Mary Kimoto Tomita traveled to Japan to learn Japanese and connect with the culture of her ancestors. She boarded a ship two years later to come back home to America. Two days into the voyage, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The ship turned around and Mary was trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. Mary's story -- told through interviews and letters from the time -- is a rare glimpse at a piece of the World War II experience.

November 2007

November 30

The Village that Got too OldBBC Producer David Stenhouse visits a dwindling village in Japan where the only remaining inhabitants are all over age 60. Unable to maintain their homes, the residents must decide on the fate of their village and their future as a community.

Shades of Grey: Shell vs. Nigeria's Ogoni PeopleIn Nigeria, the Ogoni people have been at war with the giant Anglo-Dutch petroleum company, Shell, for nearly a decade. It has been a bitter conflict between David and Goliath, a conflict full of recriminations, deceit and politics. Radio Netherlands producer Eric Beauchemin reports from both sides of the conflict. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

November 23

At Home on Cape CodIn AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.

My World: Officer Candidate School In 1965 and 1966, Producer Askia Muhammad was a star-struck and naive college student who had matriculated from Watts to San Jose State University, while getting college deferments to serve two years active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
As Askia began struggles with becoming a Reserve Office Candidate, the country began to struggle with itself with blacks' rights, the hippie movement, the constant protest against the war in Vietnam.
In My World: Officer Candidate School, Askia takes us through his path from faithful Naval Officer to conscientious objector.

November 16

Wives of the GodsAccording to the Trokosi custom practised in Ghana, a family must offer a virgin daughter to a fetish priest as a way of appeasing the gods for a relative's transgression, past or present. The tradition, which has been part of the Ewe culture for centuries, requires a girl to spend the rest of her life as a 'wife of the gods' through their medium, the Trokosi priest. Angela Robson talks to priests, girls who want to stay in the shrines as 'wives,' and activists fighting for the end of this traditional practice.

Running with AtalantaTen years ago, two young women were studying law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte – a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam.
The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare – a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man.
Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

November 9

Vietnam BluesVince Gabriel is a Maine-based blues musician who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience in the Vietnam War. In this program, Vince takes listeners chronologically through his time in Vietnam, with his music leading us into stories about getting drafted, arriving in the jungle, what combat was like, the loss of his closest friend, the relief of finally returning home, and his reflections on the legacy of Vietnam today. Vince's stories give listeners an almost visceral sense of what it's like for those on the front lines. Though it is an account of a war that took place years ago, Vince's observations feel disturbingly immediate and poignant. Producer Christina Antolini brings us the "Vietnam Blues."

D-Day DiariesJune 6th, 1944 dawned unlike any other day in history. Three million Allied soldiers prepared for months to cross the English Channel and liberate Europe. All along the coast of Normandy machine guns, mines, booby traps and obstacles awaited the invading army. Thousands lost
their lives that day. Many more were wounded. The story of D-Day is best
told in the words of the soldiers who lived through the landing, words
gathered from letters, books and diaries. These are their memories.

November 2

The Return of the Breaksea Rat Busters3 hours by sea out from Doubtful Sound on the uninhabited south west coast of New Zealand, The wild Breaksea Island, was identified back in the late 1970’s as an ideal refuge for endangered birds, if it were not for it’s ever-growing population of rats.
When DSIR Ecologist Rowley Taylor came up with a method to eradicate the vermin from this steep 170 hectare area, everyone thought he was mad. But with the help of Bruce Thomas and support from the Fiordland National Park, the invasive Norway rat population was successfully removed, first from Hawea Island in 1986 and then Breaksea, two years later.
Rowley and Bruce became pioneers for the eradication of pests from islands, and forerunners to the establishment of sanctuaries on mainland and off shore islands.
Almost twenty years on from their pioneering project, the two return to see the fruits of their labour, and to relive the gory glory of their battle against the rat.

Songs of the Humpback WhalesThey are among the largest mammals on earth, but also among the most invisible: humpback whales are an enigma to scientists who can't observe much of their underwater activities. To unlock the secrets of humpback behavior, researchers have turned to sound to hear what they cannot see. Join us on an underwater visit to the whales on their feeding grounds near Sitka, Alaska. The remarkable sounds discovered there are causing scientists to forge new theories about whales and why they sing.

October 2007

October 26

Hags and NightmaresIt's the middle of the night. You wake up with a start. There's a presence in the room watching you. You sense that it is evil. But you are paralyzed and powerless. It's your worst nightmare, or is it? This program looks at a strangely common condition called sleep paralysis in which people are dreaming while they are awake and are unable to move. Psychologist Al Cheyne explores what happens to the body during these episodes and tries to explain why the experience is so terrifying. Sleep paralysis appears to be the source of some of our most terrifying myths and legends, and it has inspired artists through the ages. Hags and Nightmares was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

BetwitchedUntil recently, little was known about the unusual neurological disorder that compels people to make strange noises, utterances and movements, otherwise known as tourette's syndrome. On today’s Program, producer Natalie Kestecher of the ABC helps us get a glimpse into the worlds of several people living with, and struggling through, Tourette’s Syndrome. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

October 19

Live at the ApolloAccording to the Oxford English dictionary, the word "outsourcing" first showed up in 1981, to describe how car companies were sending skilled jobs abroad. Today, "outsourcing" is part of our daily vocabulary. Just about everything that we used to do here is being done much more cheaply somewhere else. India, for instance, is teeming with educated workers who now take care of our textiles, our call centres and our computers. And now they're starting to take care of our bodies.
In early February, six Canadians made their way to the V.I.P. ward in the Apollo Hospital in Chennai - formerly Madras - in southern India. They're what we call "medical tourists." They're frustrated with their country's waiting lists, and scared off by the high price of private care in the United States. At the Apollo Hospital they're welcomed with open arms and in high style. Chennai's steamy crowded streets, the motorized rickshaws and ox-drawn wagons are floors down and a world away.
Producer David Gutnick follows a woman from Kenora, Ontario who chose to go to India rather than wait five years for the gastric bypass surgery she wanted. While there David met a man who was told by Canadian doctors he would never walk without pain again, and that surgery was useless. He refused to believe them.
Live at the Apollo will make you think again about the future direction of Canadian healthcare.
This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Korle-Bu HospitalIn the Children's Block of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana's capital, Accra, the dedicated staff struggle to do their best for their young patients. It's a tough and stressful job. They face a lack of equipment, staff shortages, and patients who are often unable to pay for medical care. Ghana's current health system requires that all medical bills must be paid before the patient leaves the hospital; hospitals actually employ security guards to make sure no one leaves without paying their bills. But now the Ghanaian government is introducing a health insurance scheme, to make health care more affordable for all the country's citizens. Joy FM's Akwasi Sarpong speaks with Korle-Bu's staff and patients about the challenges facing them and the future prospects for change. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

October 12

Cut and PastePlagiarism at universities and colleges is rife - 4 out of 10 students admit they copy material from the internet and try to pass it off as their own work. For some it's an easy way out at the last minute; for others it's driven by cut-throat competition to get into the best graduate or professional schools. To deal with the issue, colleges and universities are trying many different approaches, from changing their teaching methods to using online detection filters to promoting a culture of integrity on campus. Producer Jean Snedegar visits faculty and students at Duke, the University of Virginia, and other colleges to discover the underside of higher learning. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Sick at HeartThe Netherlands is statistically the sickest country in Europe. One in 6 people of working age are on a disability pension, and most of them are younger than their counterparts around the world. In recent years, more and more young highly educated women have been going onto long term disability leave for various kinds of stress related disorders. Radio Netherlands Producer Dheera Sujan looks at a disability system that is unique in the world. A system which allows its beneficiaries to earn a salary as well as receive sick benefits, a system which rates illness on a percentage basis, and a system which until fairly recently no politician was allowed to overhaul although its financial drain to the economy was almost too much to bear. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

October 5

Run for your LifeIt was a Friday. A sunny fall day, one year ago. Francine Mailly got up very early. She had taken the day off from her job as a clerk at the National Research Council and told her kids they wouldn't be going to school. She filled garbage bags with clothes as quickly as she could and tossed them in the trunk of her sister's car. Francine had to move fast because her husband Frank would be back from his shift at the post office at any time. And if he caught her trying to leave, she was doomed. Frank had warned Francine many times before: If you leave me, I'll kill you. On September 30th, 2005, a desperate Francine Mailly and her three children sped away from their Cumberland, Ontario home. But Francine didn't run far enough. Francine left behind two sisters who had tried desperately - over a number of years and in the best way they knew how - to help her get out of a violent marriage. Producer Alisa Siegel talks with them as they struggle to come to terms with the nightmare of Francine's life - and of her death. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Fear on the Inside: Diary of Domestic ViolenceProducer Dan Collison documents a week in the life of "Anna," a battered woman in Chicago. The documentary begins three
days after Anna's estranged husband has threatened to kill her and their baby at gunpoint. Anna keeps an audio journal of her
attempt to have her husband, who she says beat her repeatedly before they separated, arrested. She tells of her frustration with
the police and legal system and of her attempt to live a "normal life."

September 2007

September 28

Durga's CourtIt's on the verandah of a house in a remote village in West Bengal, India, where one court's sessions are held. Each litigating party comes with a group of supporters who try to outshout each other, and the judge – untrained in formal law – makes her rulings by a potent alchemy of mythology, common sense, a flamboyant personality and a very loud voice. Shabnam Ramaswamy is the only hope for hundreds of people who are too poor to grease palms to make India’s judiciary or police work for them and her court is often the only shot these people have at justice. In Durga’s Court, Dheera Sujan visits what must be one of the more unusual courts of justice in the world. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Ode to JosephineJosephine Fernandez was Dheera Sujan's 20-something, bow-legged, horsey faced Goan ayah, or nanny. She was about five and her sister two years younger when Josie came into their lives. She stayed with them until they immigrated to Australia a few years later. When they left India for good to start a new life, it was Josie whom they missed more than anything else they'd left behind. This program comes to us from Radio Netherlands and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 21

Hospice ChroniclesIt's been forty years since St. Christopher's Hospice – the first modern hospice – opened in a suburb of London. Since then, millions of people around the world have chosen hospice at the end of their lives, with many patients choosing to receive care in their homes.
Over the course of eight months, team Long Haul followed two hospice volunteers through their training and first assignments in patients' homes. Trained to provide "respite care," the volunteers set out to give family members a break from their caretaking responsibilities. And while one has a chance to reflect on her patient's life in a intimate setting, another gets to explore death in a rather unexpected way – a way that training never could have prepared him for.

Upright GrandA document of the poignant moment in the life of
Producer Tim Wilson's own mother, a daunting figure and
a once-accomplished pianist, now diagnosed with
Alzheimer's, when she is forced to leave her
apartment, her pearls, and her 'upright grand' to
enter 'a home.' Upright Grand turns into a
searching examination of the often ambiguous
relationship between a mother and son.

September 14

The United States of DatingA producer's quest for real stories of how people meet each other in the current dating environment, and how they negotiate their dating
relationships. Along the way, we'll hear from matchmakers, relationship experts and common-or-garden daters. We'll explore how the written word still rules romance and dating etiquette -- from staccato text-message shorthand to classified ads, postcards and email. We'll meet the Dating Coach who advises clients on putting their best face forward; New York City's own cupid cab driver who tries his hand at amateur matchmaking in Manhattan gridlock; a political activist who runs a booming online dating
service for like-minded lefties (motto: "take action, get action"); and a woman who blogs her private dating activities in a public online diary...
with some surprising results. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

A Complicated FriendshipCanadian producer Frank Faulk has an unusual - but long running - friendship with a fundamentalist preacher in Kentucky. They may disagree on just about everything, but their friendship is solid. This program comes to us from the CBC and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries. It won a Silver Medal at the 2005 New York Festivals.

September 7

Wildfire!With thousands of sheep and cattle burned alive this year, hundreds of houses destroyed and a number of human deaths, Australia is pouring millions of Australian dollars into wildfire research and many other countries are turning to Australia for advice and help. Are these fires malicious? Part of the complex system of global warming? Just natural phenomena that will die down again? Producer Sharon Mascall puts on fireman's helmet and overalls and heads for the Australian Bush where the frequency and intensity of wildfires seems to be increasing. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Cities of the PlainUrban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

August 2007

August 31

High School TimeFrom 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, a student, teacher, and principal let us in on their world of bells, tests, technology, and teen life.
We track what a day is like at Westfield High School in Virginia. With almost 3,000 students, it is one of the largest schools in the Washington, DC area. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

Home SchoolsImagine that your parent is your teacher, your siblings are your classmates, and your kitchen is your classroom. Plus, you get to study outside, choose your areas of interest, and do your classwork online. The image of home schooling is changing from detached and reclusive, to engaged and mainstream. And not all homeschooling is alike. Home school parent and producer Heather Gattucio examines very different approaches to this alternative educational regime.

August 24

The Orphan Train"The Orphan Train" is an unnarrated documentary about one of the least known and yet most significant social experiments in American history. In September 1854, the first "orphan train" carried 46 homeless children from New York City to far off homes to become laborers in the pioneer West. It was the first step in what was to become the emigration of as many as 250,000 orphan children to new homes throughout the entire United States. Some children found kind homes and families, others were overworked and abused. Widely duplicated throughout its 75 year history, the original orphan train was the creation and life project of the now forgotten man who was to become the father of American child welfare policy. This documentary features interviews with surviving orphan train riders, as well as readings from historical newspapers, letters and journals, and is laced with classical and folk music.

Girls Like UsMarisela and Yadira immigrated illegally to the United States as small children. Marisela, who immigrated when she was 7, remembers crossing over the border while lying in the back of a truck. Yadira, who was 3 when she crossed, remembers nothing of her entry into the U.S. Her first memories are of life in California. After their families moved to Denver, Colorado, the two young women met in middle school. Both went on to become star students in high school – AP classes, top ten percent of their class – and recruiters from Colorado colleges were telling them that they would bend over backwards to snag students like them. But of course they had a big problem, which they were afraid to share: They didn’t have Social Security numbers. This meant that they didn't qualify for any federal aid, or for most private scholarships. “Girls Like Us” is the story of two young girls trying to get into college in a country where they are undocumented.

August 17

Touched by FireMadness and genius have often been linked. And studies show that there is a greatly increased rate of depression, manic-depressive illness, bi-polar disorder, and suicide in writers and artists. In "Touched by Fire," Producer Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands explores the connections between creativity and mental illness. We meet Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, one of the world's leading experts on manic-depressive illness. She herself suffers from manic depression and she believes that people who have experienced the highs of mania and the depths of depression have a unique insight into the human condition. We also meet Stella, Edward, and Carrie-Anne, who provide an intimate portrait of what it's like to live with bi-polar disorder. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Islands of GeniusHow can a 20 year old man who is blind, autistic and still believes in Santa Claus play the most sophisticated improvisational
jazz piano? How can a child who appears withdrawn and retarded gaze at a building for only a minute then draw an exact
reproduction on paper? Producer Stephan Smith explores the mysterious powers of savants -- people with profound mental
disabilities who develop an island of genius in music, mathematics or art. Contemporary research on Savant Syndrome is
producing new insights on how the human brain works, and how personal intelligence can outwit the IQ test.

August 10

Calling Mr. MarconiWhen Guglielmo Marconi installed a receiving station at St. Johns Newfoundland in November 1901 he probably never realized the full impact of his invention. Radio is now as remarkable as wallpaper. The people of St. Johns are determined to celebrate this most ubiquitous of mediums on the 100th anniversary of the transmission of the first signal across the Atlantic. Producer Chris Brookes from Battery Radio captures the town's enthusiasm as they move through the day.

Zoom Black Magic Liberation RadioMbanna Kantako's pirate radio station, broadcast from a corner of his living room, is heard in a two mile radius of the John Hay Homes housing project in Springfield, Illinois. 'Zoom Black Magic Radio' has attracted a relatively large audience with its mix of rap and reggae music, listener call-ins and political commentary. It has also attracted the attention of the FCC, the local legal system and the Springfield Police, all of whom have attempted to shut the station down.

August 3

Face to FaceWhat does it mean to be an American with the face of the enemy? Face to Face connects the experiences of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with those of Arab and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.Visit the Face to Face website

Children of the HatedDuring the Second World War, an estimated 10,000
children were born in Norway out of liaisons
between occupying German soldiers and local
women. The Nazis had set up special Lebensborn
homes where these liaisons could take place and
where single mothers and their babies could stay.
After the war life became hell for most of these
Norwegian women and their children. Producer Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands brings us Children of the Hated. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

July 2007

July 27

Before the War it Was the WarIn the recent Middle Eastern conflict between the Lebanese guerilla organization Hezbollah and the state of Israel, one man took it upon himself to 'resist with his pen', to bear witness for his people and bring the world 'the real news from Beirut.' His name is Mazen Kerbaj, a young musician and comic illustrator whose impromptu blog site reached tens of thousands of people. The bombing of Lebanon has ceased but his blog-site continues. Producers Anna Burns and Nicole Steinke of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation give a vivid audio recreation of Mazen’s blog-site and of everyday life inside a war zone. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's StoryBorn into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.

July 20

Under the CanopyA very delicately nuanced and richly atmospheric story of a group of young protesters who've been camping at the end of a logging road deep in old growth forest for almost a year. They've built a tree-sit village and a full sized pirate ship to stop construction of the road. Producer Judy Rapley of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation joins them at the beginning of a cold, wet winter. This story airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Every Tree Tells A StoryUrban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park.

July 13

The Urban Forest Healing CenterFrom the time he wrote ‘Walden – Life in the Woods’ philosopher Henry David Thoreau understood the restorative value of trees to the human soul. More than 100 years later researchers are discovering that a pleasurable walk among trees and green space can calm an active child, refresh a tired mind, and make all of us feel better. The view of a tree outside a window can make an office worker more productive, a hospital stay shorter, or a prison sentence more bearable. Even in the most deprived inner city, trees and green space around buildings reduce crime and violence as well as promote a sense of community and well-being. In our series, Tales from Urban Forests, Jean Snedegar explores the power of trees to restore us, body and mind.

Watershed 263In urban areas across the country, trees and grass have been replaced with pavement and concrete. Storm water runoff from these paved surfaces in cities can be saturated with harmful substances such as gasoline, oil and trash. We head to the inner city of Baltimore where partners have joined forces to clean up the runoff flowing into the harbor and into the Chesapeake Bay, and at the same time to improve the quality of life for the residents living there.

July 6

The Music Boat ManReinier Sijpkens travels around the world making magic and music for children. At home in the Netherlands, he haunts the canals of Amsterdam playing barrel organ, trumpet and conch. Producer Dheera Sujan meets with this illusive magical character who says his day job is "developing his soul."

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?Practice, practice, practice - and that
is what millions of people across the
country have done for generations.
Piano lessons led to recitals, with
dreams of glory dancing in their heads
- or at the least their doting parents
and relatives. What happened after all
of those hours of agonizing scale runs
and finger exercises? Did it all go for
naught - to be wasted away in parlor
entertainment with endless renditions
of Heart and Soul? Composer Brenda Hutchinson set out across the U.S. to find out - with a U-Haul truck, a piano and a microphone.

June 2007

June 29

Game OverVideo games dull the brain and turn children into violence craving delinquents. That apparently is the popular opinion but not one that is entirely factual. Psychologists do see an increase in violent tendencies after game playing but they also note that students who play video games learn new technologies faster in school. What if video games could be educational and improve knowledge of math, science and social studies? That is what some video game developers and educators are working on. Combining curriculum with state of the art game software, they are testing how games can improve education and student participation in the classroom. Game Over takes a look at how video games are making a comeback in the educational world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Building BlocksSeveral years ago at Long Creek juvenile detention center in Maine, one MIT professor revolutionized the existing school system. He instituted a learning-by-doing program where young offenders spend their day using Legos to build programmable robots - clocks, vehicles and moving fantasy figures. Teens photograph their creations and write diaries proudly chronicling their progress. Can incarcerated youth gain important skills and confidence from such a program or should they be learning discipline in a conventional schoolroom? Producer Judith Kampfner takes us inside the classroom to find out. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

June 22

God IndifferentAccording to the 2006 census, more than a third of all New Zealanders claim to have no religion. Few, however, would agree to being called an atheist. For some, calling yourself an atheist is a certain path to derision. But for many, the term atheist just doesn’t accurately reflect their particular version of disbelief. Instead, they often opt for a different term: God Indifferent.
Producer Justin Gregory talks to three different people about their take on disbelief. Academic and unashamed atheist Dr. Bill Cooke, radical theologian and Presbyterian minister Professor Lloyd Geering (the only person to have been tried for heresy in New Zealand), and “constructive skeptic” Arch Thompson speak to the tradition and variety of atheism, the emerging trends of fundamentalism and indifference, and the possibilities for new forms of belief, free from gods or dogma. God Indifferent was produced by Radio New Zealand as a part of the Global Perspective series on belief.

A Visit to SedonaJust two hours south of the Grand Canyon, the scenic remote village of Sedona, Arizona, has gone from being an isolated haven for visual artists and retirees to a bustling center of New Age activity. Sedona is now home to an increasing number of young seekers who claim that the land has powerful healing energies. The population has doubled in recent times and longtime residents and local Native tribesmembers are concerned about the destruction of the land and the removal of sacred artifacts from the ruins, as well as the misappropriation of traditional culture by well meaning New Age seekers. Producer Njemile Rollins talks with members of local tribes, longtime residents, and new arrivals to Sedona who come seeking inner peace, fulfillment and new cultural identities.

June 15

Biblically Correct ToursIf you walk through a natural history museum these days, you might see signs that reflect our more "politically correct" reality. For instance, the word "humankind" often replaces "mankind" on the placards. But a Christian movement aims to take museums beyond politically correct to what they refer to as "biblically correct".
CBC’s Frank Faulk explores "Biblically Correct Tours" which offer a literal, Biblical interpretation of everything from what fossils tell us about evolution, to the disappearance of the dinosaurs. One of the guides teaches children that evolution is "bad science" and that answers to questions concerning where we came from can be found in the book of Genesis. This program was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as part of our Global Perspective series about belief.

New Norcia: The Monastery and the ObservatoryIn Western Australia, there's a small and somewhat surreal town called New Norcia. It's Australia's only Monastic town - with a surprising and imposing collection of Spanish style buildings. New Norcia was established in the 1850s as a 'Spanish Benedictine Monastery.' Today, a handful of monks continue the ancient tradition of prayer, work and service in their search for God. Now, New Norcia is also the home to one of the European Space Agency's largest tracking stations. A monastery next to an observatory might seem incongruous, however these neighbors have forged an unlikely understanding. Both groups are exploring the riddle of existence and space, in different ways. This program was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

June 8

Tale of 2 computer labsThis program takes a look at the digital divide between two
schools, Herndon High School in wealthy Fairfax County, Virginia which
has 800 computers, and the Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy in the District of Columbia which has only 42 computers for the entire school. Based solely on these numbers, one might wonder if Herndon High School offers more opportunities for its students, but can computers alone give students a successful education? Producer Richard Paul discovers how these schools use this technology to aid their classrooms.

Life before the ComputerRemember the first television set your family got? Or the first transistor radio that was really all your own? Our relationship with technology is oddly intimate, worming its way into even our most evocative memories. Producer Ilene Segalove talks to people with humorous memories of the "latest technologies" of their childhoods, now faded into obscurity in the computer age.

June 1

When the Siren SoundsThe Volunteer Fire Brigade in Akaroa has been putting out fires, rescuing horses, and prying survivors out of mangled vehicles for over 100 years. It’s the backbone of this tiny community with 25 trained members on call twenty-four hours a day.
When the siren sounds, they drop everything – and race to the station and into the trucks. Sometimes it’s a car over the edge of a bank on one of the many treacherously windy roads in the region, sometimes a house fire where the occupants are personal friends.
Nowadays, there are women on the brigade, and a disabled man who fought hard to get behind the wheel of the truck. What hasn’t changed is the camaraderie and friendships formed from years of risking their lives to save others.

TraumaThis program is a portrait of the ebb and flow of life within the Alfred Hospital's Trauma and Emergency Department in Melbourne, Australia. In a kaleidoscopic style, Mark Fitzgerald, the Director of Emergency Services takes us into the heart of his department a place where dramatic, life-changing events occur with relentless regularity against a background of routine order. As staff and patients share their experiences of either unexpectedly arriving at the hospital or coming home from it every day, we discover what place the big questions about life, society and human nature have in an environment that by definition strives to maintain the mechanics of life from one moment to the next. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

May 2007

May 25

The Public Green and the PoorNumerous times in American history, reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature -- the belief being that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently. And it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program, from Producer Richard Paul, looks at a time in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor. It airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Fierce for Change: Meridel Le SueurA portrait of writer Meridel Le Sueur, whose works for over 60 years have been informed by her political history and beliefs, and colored by her connectedness to the midwestern land and environment.

May 18

Testing the AlarmsSince 9/11, many people have come to view the world through a filter of anxiety. Daily media reports of terror attacks or threats keep us all on heightened alert. But what is the source of that fear?
A woman relives her brush with a possible suicide bomber on the London underground.
An Iranian man in the Netherlands recalls how he was prepared to attach a bomb to his body to destroy the enemies of Islam.
In "Testing the Alarms ", Fiona Stewart and Sassan Saghar Yaghmai offer two very different perspectives on fear and how it shades their lives. Joanna Bourke explores the history of the manipulation of fear. This documentary was produced by Michelle Ernsting of Radio Netherlands as a part of the Crossing Boundaries exchange.

LegaciesSept 11th was a day without parallel. For an older generation that fought and lived through the two world wars, riots, terrorist attacks, the holocaust, the carnage and destruction on the 20th century, it brought back memories. It reminded them not just of war but also the tenacity of the human spirit that enabled them to overcome all odds. Many of them realized that they had to pass on their history of survival and hope to their children and grandchildren. They chose unique and personal ways to tell their story. This is the story of Isadore Scott, Leon Lissek and Ruth LaFevre and their amazing legacies.

May 11

Van Gogh and GauguinVincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of the late 19th century. A brief but intense collaboration occurred between the two artists. They met in Paris in the autumn of 1887. Each man tried to learn from the other and admired the other's work. Their collaboration was marked at first by mutual support and dialogue, but there was also competition and friction. The men differed sharply in their views on art: Gauguin favored working from memory and allowing abstract mental processes to shape his images, while Vincent held an unshakeable reverence for the physical reality of the observable world of models and Nature. This is reflected in the very different techniques each artist used. But toward the end of 1888, a series of violent incidents around Christmas Eve brought a dramatic end to their collaboration. This is the story of their personal and professional relationship.

My MonetsWriter David Stewart has a collection of valuable paintings by the impressionist painter Claude Monet. And he has a team of international curators taking care of them. That's because they're stored not in Stewart's private gallery, but in museums all over the world. Wherever he travels, he visits one of "his Monets", personal favorites that he makes a point of spending time with on each trip. That way, he comes to know them intimately, in his gallery of the mind. Stewart suffers with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that renders him increasingly blind. When he visits his Monets, he is remembering them rather than seeing them, and using other people's observations to keep his memories fresh. In pursuit of his passion, Stewart writes essays, journeys to some of his favorite museums, and explains how it feels to take visual ownership of a painting.

May 4

Remains of the Sword: Armenian OrphansNinety years ago, up to 1.5 million Armenians were deported and died at the hands of the Ottoman rulers of Turkey. But it is believed that Turkish families saved thousands of orphaned Armenian children secretly. Some children who had been adopted were then forcibly taken away from their Turkish families by foreign troops and sent to orphanages in Europe. Until now, the very existence of the children has remained largely an untold story, buried along with those who died between 1915 and 1916. But their family members are slowly uncovering the stories of those Armenian orphans. The issue still remains extremely contentious, and the story of Armenian orphans is now becoming one of most sensitive and emotionally charged issues in Turkish society. Producer Dorian Jones exposes how descendants of Armenian orphans are discovering their family histories.

My Father's IslandIn the 1930s, five German brothers fled Nazi Germany and set sail for the Galapagos to live a Robinson Crusoe lifestyle. The Angermeyers were exotic and eccentric, and among the first permanent settlers. Through the memories of Joanna and other family members, Producer Ruth Evans of the BBC uncovers the family history and their links with the Galapagos. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

April 2007

April 27

A Whisper from the PastIn Australia, the world's driest continent, the north eastern
state of Queensland is in the grip of the worst drought in 100 years, and the state government is pushing hard for one of the country's most beautiful valleys to be dammed. However, the Mary River is one of the last breeding places for a strange and ancient fish held sacred by the Gubbi Gubbi people, who were brought up to believe they must do everything they can to protect the fish. In 'A Whisper from the Past' the ABC's Nick Franklin explores how an indigenous elder is pursuing her belief in the Queensland lung fish', known to her people as 'Dala', to save the valley. This program was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as part of our Global Perspective series about belief.

The TravelerThe monarch butterfly is the greatest marathon runner of the insect world. Each year in May hundreds of millions of them take off from their winter quarters in Morelia, Mexico to begin a perilously delicate 3000 mile journey north. With luck, three months later by the human calendar but three generations later in butterfly time, the Monarchs reach northern United States and southern Canada. In late summer their journey begins again, and they arrive back in their winter roosts around the time of the Mexican Day of the Dead in late November. And while the monarch butterfly is beautiful, it is also mysterious. We don't know how the monarchs know where to go. We have no idea how they navigate the annual route along identical flight paths, right down to nesting on the same trees in the same fields year after year. And we don't know how they pass on the knowledge of those routes to the future generations that make the return trip. Producer Chris Brookes takes us on an in-depth journey with the monarch butterfly, and looks at three factors that may be threatening its existence.

April 20

Von TrappedA dark tale about a woman obsessed with 'The Sound of Music' and the Von Trapp Family as well as other things Austrian. That is, until she realizes Austria's recent history is not just about apple strudel, singing nuns and happy blond children. The producer is Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This feature was awarded the bronze medal at the inaugural Chicago Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2001.

ChickensProducer Adi Gevins presents both a lighthearted and serious examination of chickens and their
relationship to humans in historical, cultural, economic and institutional contexts.

April 13

The Lucky Secret to SuccessMany Hong Kongers believe that a person’s success is governed by five factors. These are, in order of importance: fate/destiny, luck, feng shui, good deeds/virtues, and hard work/study.
For the city that’s known for its competitive business culture, assiduous students, and industrious people; it seems surprising that hard work comes at the bottom of the list and more importance is attributed to external factors facilitating success.
So are Hong Kongers successfully lucky or luckily successful?
Erin Bowland of Radio Television Hong Kong explores the culture that is full of superstitions, rituals and beliefs revolving around the pursuit of success. This program was produced by Radio Television Hong Kong as part of our Global Perspective series on belief.

Low Flying FishA spirited exploration of the culture of extreme motivation in America, from team- and vision- building in the corporate world ... to the multi- million dollar industry of self-improvement books and videos. Along the way, we'll meet Seattle's famous corporate-training fishmongers; hear from someone trying to figure out Who Moved Her Cheese; and be introduced to despair.com's lucrative mockery of the whole motivation business.

April 6

After the ShotOn the night of April 14th 1865, in front of a thousand people at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Shouting ‘Sic semper tyrannis’ – ‘thus always to tyrants’, Booth believed that he was striking down a tyrant as surely as Brutus struck down Julius Caesar. Twelve days later Booth himself was shot dead in a barn in Virginia. From the moment Booth shot Lincoln, conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination have flourished – and 140 years later, for both historians and ordinary people, they are still very much alive. Some believe Booth was the ring leader of a small group; others are convinced he was simply a pawn in a grand conspiracy plot. While still others believe it wasn’t really Booth who died in that Virginia barn. Jean Snedegar tries to unravel the truth – and a myriad of legends - about the assassination of a great American president.

Remembering Kent State 1970When thirteen students were shot by Ohio National Guard Troops during a war demonstration on the Kent State University Campus on the first week of May 1970, four young lives were ended and a nation was stunned. More than 30 years later, the world at war is a different place. However, those thirteen seconds in May, 1970 still remain scorched into an Ohio hillside. Through archival tape and interviews, Remembering Kent State tracks the events that led up to the shootings.

March 2007

March 30

The Music HouseMusic is the life-blood of the Baka Pygmies, the rainforest people of the Cameroon. They use music to enchant the animals of the forest before the hunt, to cure illnesses and to overcome disputes. Everyone sings and plays and there is no sense of performer and audience. The Euro-African band 'Baka Beyond' have been making music inspired by their visits to the Baka for over ten years. On this visit, at the request of the Baka, the band are taking an English timber-frame specialist to build a music house for them, paid for
with royalties from Baka Beyond's recordings. In this program, Producer Eka Morgan travels to the forest to meet the Baka and members of the band while they build the music house.

Kinshasa StoryHead off to one of the great music capitals of the world, Kinshasa, on the banks of the mighty Congo River in Central West Africa. This Kinshasa Story is all about music and music makers - from well established stars, to hopeful wannabes with nothing more than a set of empty cans as drums. Our guide is Melbourne musician and some time disc jockey, Miriam Abud. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

March 23

Heavy PettingAmericans will do anything for their pets -- from cemetaries to beauty salons to
day camp. There are tv and radio shows aimed at pets, cooking shows for pet food, and pet therapists.
There's no fluff here...pets are big business and very important to people. Producer Gemma Hooley
explores the psychology behind this singularly American phenomenon.

A Big AffairProducer Deborah Nation of Radio New Zealand brings us a heartwarming romance between man (Tony Ratcliffe) and elephant (Jumbo). This is the backdrop for some reflections on the sometimes troubled relationships between men and women. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

March 16

Little Fish in a Multiculti PondNot very far from Amsterdam is a neighborhood called the Baarsjes, or
“little fish”. The area covers less than one square mile, and houses 35,000 residents from 126 countries.
Such multicultural diversity in such a small area has not been without
serious problems. Controversy and discrimination are not uncommon in the area. The most recent debate surrounds plans to build a new Turkish mosque.
But residents believe they can make a difference by taking initiatives to bring these diverse communities together - through meetings, sport and cultural events. Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands takes to the streets of his neighborhood to find out just how much is changing for the “Little Fish in a Multiculti Pond.” This program was produced by Radio Netherlands Worldwide as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

Making a Home for RefugeesIn 'Making a Home for Refugees' BBC producer Esther Armah
reports from Hull in the north east of England.
Traditionally Hull has had only a very small
ethnic community numbering some 300 Chinese, so
there was considerable suspicion when the local
council agreed to accept around 250 Iraqi Kurds,
under the British government's dispersal
programme. In fact between 1,500 and 3,000
arrived in the city, as a result of a deal done
by private landlords. Initially there were
incidents of violence and racial abuse, even
today there are occasional attacks. But as
Esther discovered, despite lingering prejudice,
there is a growing acceptance of these refugees
and asylum-seekers. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration series Global Perspectives: Looking for Home.

March 9

Treasure on EarthGhana’s charismatic church offers material wealth to its believers. This troubles Kofi Owusu of Joy FM, who while a committed believer in the church, is uncomfortable with the requests for the congregation to make offerings. What is preached is Prosperity Gospel is God will make you rich, but first you must give generously to your church.
Some of the pastors in Ghana’s charismatic church are very wealthy. So what is going on here? Is there any control of how the pastor spends the money given to his church? Kofi seeks to learn why the church is emphasising material gain rather than spiritual growth.
The resulting program is ‘Treasure on Earth’. This program was produced by Joy FM Ghana and is a part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

MissionariesNot more than 25 years ago, they were the first outsiders to come to Irian Jaya. Outsiders who will never
become insiders, the missionaries of Irian Jaya introduced the twentieth century to the native peoples.
Although they came to educate, offer health care and save souls, ultimately, as this portrait by producer
Moira Rankin reveals, the greatest effect of their work is on their own personal development.

March 2

Beyond the MirrorA recent decision in the UK allowed the world’s first full facial transplants. The BBC's Kati Whitaker talks to three people about the impact of severe facial disfigurement and discovers what beliefs have helped them through their despair.
The face is our first point of contact with the world. But what happens if you lose your face to injury or disease?
Simon Weston suffered from burns in the Falklands war; Michele Simms had her face destroyed by a firework, and Diana Whybrew had half her face removed with a malignant tumor. Their belief in themselves has been challenged to its limits – down to a sense of who they are. This program was produced by the BBC World Service as part of our special Global Perspective series on belief.

Caitie's StoryWinner of a 2001 Gracie Allen Award. 12-year old
Caitie Gattucio was born with the stunningly rare
genetic skin disease ichthyosis. It affects every
inch of her body, and is profoundly disfiguring.
In this documentary essay, produced when Caitie was 9 years old, Caitie and her mother Heather discuss the disorder: how it has affected them physically and mentally; how it has impacted their entire family.

February 2007

February 23

Birthday SuitJanet Jackson reveals a breast and there is an uproar, a woman breast feeds in a mall and is thrown out, a child of 4 is naked on a beach and the life guard tells him to put his swimsuit on. Around the world there is topless bathing but it is rare in this country.
Yet one in four Americans admit to having skinny dipped.
Are we hypocrites? We obviously secretly like swimming nude so why don't we do it all the time?

The Internaional Naturist Federation says that nudism or naturism is " A way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity with the intent of encouraging self respect, respect for other and the environment".
I don't know that going naked makes you respect the environment more but surely it must lead to a greater appreciation of the different shapes and sizes bodies come in and that might conceivably make us less body conscious and phobic about fat and imperfections.

Naturist camps are almost always in a mixed social setting. Detractors say that naturist is a code for sex but perhaps men and women start to notice their differences less?
And what about naked children? Naturists warmly encourage children. Would being at one of these camps cause psychological harm?
And then how hygenic really are these places?
At the end of summer, before the chill winds blow, reporter Judith Kampfner visits a naturist camp and yes, complies with the no clothes rule.
And that's no clothes when dancing, horsebackriding, kayaking, or in the canteen.
It's not something that this reporter relishes. She is short and is used to her everyday weapons of stacked heels. Like most women she uses clother to camoflage faults. Baring all may mean feeling vulnerable and stupid. But the nudists who come year after year find it liberating, relaxing, democratic, wonderfully cheap, wildly romantic.
Perhaps our reporter will become comfortable in her birthday suit. Now why do we say 'suit'?

Summer TriptychSummer afternoon. The two most beautiful words in the English language, according to Henry James. While away the afternoon at a ballgame. Take your kid to the state fair. Go for a ride on a Ferris wheel. It's the one time of year when nature sets out to amuse us. Of course, it's an illusion. You need only be stuck behind a desk and looking out the office window to get a reality check. But if summer is an illusion, at least it's a grand illusion, and well worth the trouble. Producers David Isay, Dan Collison, and Neenah Ellis take us back stage behind the sets, props, facades, carnivals, games and country fairs. We're going to meet the technicians of summer, the people who work to make it happen.

February 16

The High Stakes of Today's TestingStandardized tests have been around for years in the United States. What's different now is that schools and teachers are being held accountable for the results of these tests. Add to that new federal legislation, and the stakes are raised even higher, with threats of federal funding being cut off to underachieving school districts. Then there is the question of how and what the children are being tested on. Producer Katie Gott follows the paths of two failing schools, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, to understand how each state applies its testing policy, and how testing impacts schools, teachers, parents and children. What happens if these schools don't make the grade after the scores are in? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

One More Chance for P.S. 123A principal, parents and students who believe in themselves and their New York City middle school are determined to raise it from a grade 'F' and threatened closure to its new motto, 'Superior in Every Way.' Producer Steven Mencher returns to his childhood school to look at the effect of 20 years of social changes in the neighborhood on the spirit and student body there.

February 9

The Busker and the DivaMargaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano".
While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated.
Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives.

AttachmentsLove, the universal emotion. From the first crush, to the worst heartbreak, to a long-lasting marriage, people young and old share with us their stories of passion and pain. Producer Ginna Allison presents us with snapshots of love in "Attachments."

February 2

The Long Road HomeWith no choice other than to leave their home, Chandra and Roy fled to India from Pakistan. They left behind their friends, jobs, and their house. Living in India for the past decade, producer Shivani Sharma takes them back to Pakistan to see if there's anything left coming home to.

The Place You Cannot ImagineGyzele Osmani is an Albanian woman who fled East
Kosovo in 1999 with her husband and five children
to find refuge in Australia. When the Australian
Government decided that Kosovo was safe, they
refused to go back. The family reasoned that
nowhere could be worse than their village, which
was still without the protection of the United
Nations. They was arrested and taken into the
infamous and isolated Port Hedland Detention
Centre. Gyzele and her family spent seven months
there.
Gyzele's story is contextualised by Marion Le, a
migration agent and human rights spokesperson,
who intervened to have the family released from
detention, and by Melanie Poole, an 18-year-old
school student who interviewed Gyzele and wrote a
prize-winning account of her story.

January 2007

January 26

Magic BoxToday, the computer in the classroom is ubiquitous. But how did it get there? Was it an organic process, or was it driven by manufacturers looking for a new place to push their machines? Turns out it was a little of both - altruism and profit. Hear from the people who started it all; the teachers who were the very first to use computers in the American classroom, and the salespeople who put them there.

Web of LettersChildren who don't learn to read by the fourth grade are likely to be plagued by reading problems their entire life. Research has shown that learning to read is complex, involving neurological and sociological processes. Despite these insights, reading averages in schools continue to drop. But some educators believe that the trend can be reversed, with the help of technology. Producer Gemma Hooley looks at some of these interactive technologies and the role they play in today's schools by helping the students and the teachers. Tune in to the A, B, C's in Web of Letters.

January 19

Educating EmilyTwelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

The Enabled ClassroomHow can technology help students with learning disabilities? From academics and hardware manufacturers to teachers in the field, hear about the technological advances for teaching everyone from elementary to university students grappling with learning disabilities, deafness, blindness, motor problems and speech disorders. Producer Alyne Ellis delves into the advantages, controversies and problems of these merging technologies.

January 12

Brazilian BeautyIn a world where just about everyone is concerned about their different shapes, sizes and colors producer Ilana Rehavia takes us from the beaches to the countryside of Brazil to see what the people have to say.

The Male Order BusinessFor Colette Sinclair, finding Mr. Right in her spare time just wasn't working, so she made it a full-time job. Using personal ads from several newspapers in and out of the UK, Colette ran her Male Order Business for over 2 years. Along the way, she made a LOT of dates, a TV appearance, a book deal, and a radio program -- BBC producer Katherine Mahoney was with her every step of the way.

January 5

Feminism and the VeilDoes the act of a Muslim woman wearing the veil affect how she is perceived as well as her family? Does modern feminism and the practice of wearing the hijab conflict with one another? Producer Safaa Faisal returns to her home country, Egypt, to find out why so many women are taking up the veil.

The ColonyThe Colony began as a hostel in Jerusalem in 1902
during the Ottoman empire. Later on it became a
hotel on the advice of Baron Von Ustinov. The
history of the colony is inextricably linked to
the history of the city itself. It was here in
room 16 that the secret talks leading to Oslo
accords were held. Over the years the hotel
became a place where Christians, Jews and Arabs
could sit together in peace, away from the
tensions of the violent city. Producer Mandy Cunningham of the BBC presents The Colony, as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 1

Rocket Girls and AstronettesThis program is the story of women in the ultimate Man’s World – the labs and Shuttle crew cabins of NASA. Told in the first person, these stories explore the experiences of NASA’s first woman engineers and scientists and its first astronauts. It also tells the fascinating story of a group of women pilots who – in the early 1960s – were led to believe that they would be America’s first women astronauts and were given the exact same physical tests are the Mercury astronauts. The program is narrated by Eileen Collins, the first woman commander of a Space Shuttle.

Race and the Space RaceThe Space Age began when America was going through a wrenching battle over Civil Rights. And because the heart of the old Confederacy was chosen as its base, NASA played an unintended role in Civil Rights history. In this program, we hear how this happened and we hear the stories of the people who broke the color line at NASA. Their stories of frustration and their stories of perseverance. Produced by Richard Paul with Soundprint and narrated by Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in Space, “Race and the Space Race” tells the unlikely story of Civil Rights and the Space Program.

December 2006

December 29

A Little Before 'Tis DayThere is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.

A Trilogy of Holiday TraditionsThe holiday season is a time of traditions sometimes nostalgic, sometimes quirky. In this program, three public radio listeners share their holiday stories. Cameron Phillips takes us inside the wonderful and horrible world of craft shows. Cathy De Rubeis tests out a special fruitcake recipe to see if she can reverse the backlash to the holiday dessert. And all her life, in all the places she's lived, Caroline Woodward has found a way to sing - from anxiously performing Christmas carol solos on stage as a young girl to feeling joy and zest today with her choir. This program was produced by Iris Yudai and Steve Wadhams from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series Outfront. This program is part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

December 22

Children and GodThe three major monotheistic religions operate from the assumption that: We have the truth, we have a privileged position, we are above others who do not believe as we do, and we are against others who do not believe as we do. This line of thinking creates strong communities of people with deep, abiding faith. But the dark side of these ideas can be seen in Srebrenica, the West Bank and the World Trade Center.
The religious person learns concepts like "God" and "My Religion" at the same time as concepts like "Green" and "Family." By preadolescence, these ideas have been planted quite deeply. This program takes a look at the results by following three 12-year olds - an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim and an Evangelical Christian -- as they pursue their religious education. We hear the songs they sing, the prayers they chant, the lessons they read and how their formal and informal training drives them to believe that, because of their religion, they have a special and exclusive relationship with God.

Throne of St.JamesIn a Washington, D.C. garage, James Hampton, a non- descript janitor by trade, started work on the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly. Built entirely out of discarded objects, this 180 piece sculpture was discovered after James' death in 1964. Considered by some to be one of the finest examples of American visionary religious art, the Throne resides at the Smithsonian. This is the story of The Throne of St. James. This program comes to us from Radio New Zealand and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

December 15

Original Kasper's Hot DogsDuring its seventy year tenure, a hot dog stand
in Oakland has become an anchor for residents of
the city's Temescal neighborhood in good times
and bad. This is the story of Kasper's Original
Hot Dogs.

The Last OutIf you are a baseball junkie, this program is for you. Producers Moira Rankin and Dan Collison explore the baseball fan's addiction to the game as they follow two die-hard enthusiasts to see how they endure the off-season in anticipation of the spring.

December 8

God Knows WhyWhy does a woman give up her life to enter a world that many of us cannot comprehend, the closed order of the Carmelites?
Outgoing, attractive Aunty Janny knew 42 years ago, at the age of twenty, that she had a special calling, to lock herself away from the modern world and leave all that she knew behind. She entered the closed order of the Catholic Carmelite nuns where she swore herself to three vows, Chastity, Poverty and Obedience, and never to live in the outside world again. Janny has physically hugged her brothers once in 42 years and her sister on only a couple of occasions.
Aunty Janny or Sister Johanna of the Cross, as she is formally known, has chosen a world that many of us cannot comprehend, a world totally devoted to God in which she prays for the salvation of us all.
Her brother Denver struggles with his sister's decision and feels she could have been the head of any corporation had she, in his eyes, not wasted her life behind those walls. However, her younger sister Maryanne understands the faith that drove her sister to do what she has done and believes the power of prayer could be the salvation of us all.

Violet FlameProducer Brenda Hutchinson's sister has been a
member of the Church Universal and Triumphant in
Corwin Springs, Montana for several years. As a
result, Brenda became interested in finding out more
about the church, and has spent time there
talking with the people and discovering how the church
involves her sister. This religious community includes families and single people from all walks of life. Sound
plays an important role in the Church from
chanting and singing to teachings and services.
The Violet Flame is a portrait of this group and an
exploration of the issue of faith.

December 1

In My Father's DreamsRob Robins has always wanted to learn to fly, but with five kids to feed the former brewery worker’s budget would not stretch to lessons and running up the required number of flying hours to get his private pilot’s license.
Now at 74, and Rob is at last living his dream. He’s learning to fly.
Rob is fit. Until recently he’d regularly cycle up the winding hills that lie alongside his home town of Christchurch, and a few months ago, he walked the tough Milford Track through New Zealand's Southern Mountains. Yet, it’s taken him almost a year to pass the physical tests required before he can start flying lessons.
There’s also another catch - Rob has been deaf since he was five. This means that he has to learn at an airfield that does not have radio controls.
So in mid-March Rob and his wife Glenis, packed up their camper van and headed to an appointment with a vintage Tiger Moth bi-plane and the isolated Mandeville airfield, near Gore
Rob’s son , Julian Robins , goes along with a microphone to observe his father's progress

Burning EmbersIn these days of big sticks, harsh words and war-talk, who couldn't use a little romance, a little love. Isn't that, as the song goes, what the world needs now. Well, in that spirit, we bring you the story of Sherman Hickey and Marie O'Toole. Theirs is a tale of innocence and desire that began almost seventy years ago. It's also a tale of unrequited passion and enduring devotion that only recently found its happy ending. This program comes to us from Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

November 2006

November 24

Washington Goes to the Moon: The Day That Changed EverythingAmericans have no trouble recalling where they were when the Challenger exploded. But outside the
aerospace community, you'd be hard-pressed to find people who remember the fire on-board Apollo
One which killed three astronauts. Nevertheless, the loss, the tragedy and the impact of that fire were as
bad, if not worse, than Challenger: the Apollo One fire called into question the most fundamental
aspects of NASA's management structure. In this program, NASA, upon experiencing its worst
catastrophe ever, attempts to respond to the Apollo One fire just like every other accident they'd ever
had. Those efforts are thrown into turmoil when frightening information about the company that built
the Apollo One capsule is leaked to a Member of Congress.

Washington Goes to the Moon: Climbing the HillFollowing the fire on Apollo One, NASA tried, for various reasons, to keep the investigation in-house.
But Members of Congress had other ideas. NASA had gathered, and then kept secret, highly critical
information about the company that built the Apollo One capsule. When that information was leaked, it
threw the agency open to suspicion for the first time in its history. This program looks at the nearly
devastating impact of Congressional investigations into the Apollo One fire on NASA's way of doing
business.

November 17

The Avega WidowsWinner of the 2002 New Media Award for Best Radio Documentary. The l994 genocide in Rwanda was one of the worst the world has known. In the space of one hundred days, nearly one million people were killed in an attempt by the Hutu dominated government and its militia to exterminate the Tutsi population. The killings left a land of widows and orphans. Now these widows are courageously trying to rebuild their lives and care for some of the orphans, helped by Avega Agahosa, a group they have set up. Kati Whitaker of the BBC travels to Rwanda to bring their story.

Nigerian ClosetAs in many countries homosexuality remains an enormous taboo in Nigeria. Many gay men face intense social and family pressure. Homosexuality is regarded as a Western import but activists point out that it has always been an integral part of the culture. There are no laws regarding same sex relations between women, but lesbians have also suffered persecution. Producer Eric Beauchemin reports on the perils of being gay in Africa's most populous nation.

November 10

Daughter of Family GOne day in 1895, a Michigan seamstress named Pauline Gross confided her worst fears to the doctor who employed her. "I'm healthy now," she said, "but I fully expect to die an early death from cancer. Most of my relatives are sick, and many in my family have already passed on."
The doctor decided to investigate. His work was the first step in the discovery - one hundred years later - of a gene mutation that causes colon cancer, known as Family "G".
Ami Mackay is a writer in Scott's Bay, Nova Scotia. The seamstress was her great grandmother's sister. With a test for the gene mutation now available, Ami Mackay is a woman with some very hard decisions to make.
This program comes to us from the CBC as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

My Dinner With MenopauseRecord numbers of women worlwide are entering menopause, facing numerous health and psychological questions. In the absence of clear science, women often turn to the long-whispered world of menopausal gossip to learn how to salvage their marriages, what can save their libido, and what value society will give them now that they are considered post-procreative. This piece addresses the emotional underpinnings of menopause among a variety of women.

November 3

Wrapping Dreams in LavenderGregory was only five when he knew he should have been born a girl. But it took till his mid-50s to harness the courage to become Susan. The gender he knew he was in his brain was different to the sex of his genitals. This is now known to be a medical rather than psychological condition but is still commonly confused with cross-dressing - where people dress as the opposite sex to fulfil a psychological need. For Susan this diagnosis of transsexualism was a godsend. But for Mary, his wife, it was devastating.
This program was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Media Awards for Radio.

IntersexA group of women talk of their experiences with a rare condition - intersexuality. They are women who have the male XY chromosome. One was forcibly raised as a boy. One only found out about her condition accidentally when she was a teenager. And one was kept in the dark about it deliberately by doctors. About one baby in 20,000 infants is born intersex. Often these infants can be clearly seen to belong to one sex, but a small percentage of them are born with ambiguous genitalia and in the past, doctors made a unilateral decision about which sex they thought the child belonged to. Sometimes they even performed surgery without properly consulting or informing the parents. That practice has been banned in the Netherlands but although medical personnel and lay people are more open to variations in sexuality these days, people with an intersex condition still find the subject very difficult to bring up. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

October 2006

October 27

The Day of the DeadAccompany a Mexican family to the town cemetery on November First to celebrate the sacred holiday of the Day of the Dead. Join them as they spend the day and night at their loved one?s graves-honoring them by bring their favorite foods, perhaps a drink of tequila, toting their favorite songs.
The holiday combines ancient Aztec and Indian rituals with Christian beliefs, but it also holds important philosophical, sociological, and political meaning for today's Mexicans. What does the holiday reveal about the national character, and how has this quinticentially Mexican approach to life and death been manipulated by cynical rulers over the centuries to excuse poor health care, horrendous labor conditions, and even violent political repression.

Frida Kahlo: Viva La VidaSurrealist Andre Breton called the work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo " a bomb with a ribbon around it." And Isanu
Noguchi describes it as a private diary of herself. The epic work of muralist Diego Rivera, to whom she was married,
often overshadowed its miniature detail. Kahlo said she simply painted her life. This week we present the story of that
life, delving into Kahlo's work borne of the color of Mexico's popular culture, the political legacy of Villa, Zapata
and the Revolution of 1910, the violence of a debilitating spinal injury, the pain of lost motherhood and the
desperation of immobility.

October 20

My World: Officer Candidate School In 1965 and 1966, Producer Askia Muhammad was a star-struck and naive college student who had matriculated from Watts to San Jose State University, while getting college deferments to serve two years active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
As Askia began struggles with becoming a Reserve Office Candidate, the country began to struggle with itself with blacks' rights, the hippie movement, the constant protest against the war in Vietnam.
In My World: Officer Candidate School, Askia takes us through his path from faithful Naval Officer to conscientious objector.

Sleeping through the DreamIn 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington and spoke the famous words "I have a dream." Then 18 year-old Producer Askia Muhammad was, as he recalls, 'sleeping through the dream.' Growing up in Los Angeles, Muhammad was far away from the civil rights uproar and any self-proclaimed political consciousness. Now 40 years later, Muhammad revisits his youth with two close friends. Join us for the journey of a young man's political awakening during a time of intense social unrest.

October 13

The World at Your FingertipsHelen Keller said that blindness separates a person from objects, and deafness separates that person from people. Without support, encouragement and education, the world of a deaf-blind person can be an isolated one of darkness and silence. In the documentary "The World at Your Fingertips" produced by Anna Yeadell of Radio Netherlands, we visit India where more than half a million people are deaf-blind. But with the help of Sense International and the Helen Keller Institute in Mumbai, many deaf-blind children and young adults are reaching out to the world around them, widening their horizons, and fulfilling their potential. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

A View From the BridgeThecla Mitchell is a triple amputee. For her, running in a marathon means finding complete physical existence within one wrist, one elbow and one set of fingers. Henry Butler is a blind jazz pianist, but through photography, Henry has found a meeting ground for the sighted and the sightless. Producer John Hockenberry, who is himself mobile in a wheelchair, has been a war correspondent, reporting from the field. He and associate producer Joe Richman show us what the disabled learn from living in a fundamentally different way -- where daily adventure is a part of life.

October 6

At Home on Cape CodIn AT HOME ON CAPE COD, reporter Alice Furlaud remembers her childhood and adolescence in summers on the Lower Cape. Furlaud has come back, after 26 years in Paris, to live year-round in the 1829 Truro house which her parents bought in l933. She revisits sites full of memories, and talks to friends who remember her early days on the Cape.

April in ParisEver since Ben Franklin fell in love with it and came home with tales of 'Gay Paree', Americans have
held to golden images of the city: the capital of eating and drinking, of glamorous night life, of
perfume. Even if we haven't been there we can see in our mind's eye the barges gliding along the Seine,
the lovers kissing in the streets and on park benches; we can smell the exotic cooking, and over it all we
can hear the wistful accordion music. But how much of all this is myth, how much reality? Producer
Alice Furlaud explores the question, starting with the myth that Vernon Duke created in his nostalgic
song, 'April in Paris'. Don't come in April, she advises, better wait 'til May.

September 2006

September 29

Finding AlphaOn February 1 this year, sometime after 10 o'clock at night, on a section of the CPR tracks in midtown Toronto, a young man was struck by an oncoming train. His name was Bardia Bryan Zargham. He was eighteen years old and he died a few hours later.
Zargham was a graffiti artist and he was writing his tag- his graffiti name- on the side of a stationary freight car when the train hit him. His tag was Alpha, the beginning of everything. Alpha was known as the king of the Bombers. He was that good at writing his name in big letters in a few short minutes and then moving on to it again and again and again. Hard core graffiti is not about painting pretty murals on easy-to-reach surfaces. It is about writing your name artfully against the law where everyone can see it at great personal risk.
Alpha tags are still everywhere in the city. And since his death, a companion graffiti has begun to appear, even on the wall of a police station, huge defiant letters spelling "RIP Alpha."

This program is a parody, listen to it before you complain

Young People Against Heavy Metal T-shirts (YPAHMTS) is a grass roots organization determined to fight the perception of young people's moral decline as epitomized by Heavy Metal T-shirts...Or is it? In 1992, Matthew Thompson decided it was time to fight back. He aimed to give the media a different image of youth, one that was disciplined, ordered and strong. From a single letter to a tabloid newsletter, YPAHMTS was born. However, when YPAHMPTS developed into a media juggernaut that threatened to run him over, Matthew discovered how difficult it could be to argue a sophisticated message in an era of sound bites.

September 22

Leaving a Mark: The Story of An Auschwitz SurvivorThis documentary features the story of Eva Schloss whose life bore remarkable parallels to that of Anne Frank. Eva Schloss was also 15 years old when she and her family were transported to Auschwitz. Like Anne Frank she also lost beloved family members in the death camp. However, unlike Anne Frank, she lived to tell the tale. After their liberation, Eva’s mother married Otto Frank, Anne’s father. Eva’s story takes up where the Anne Frank diary left off. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Hana's SuitcaseAt the Children's Holocaust Education Center in
Tokyo, children - flocks of them - come to see a
suitcase, sitting in a glass case. The owner of
the suitcase was Hana Brady. She died in
Auschwitz in 1944 at age 13. The museum acquired
the suitcase a few years ago and since then the
director, Fumiko Ishioka, has made it her mission
to find out more about Hana. Her search leads to
George Brady, Hana's older brother. This program comes to us from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 15

Traffic JamAcross the United States, construction on new freeways, lane additions, and bridges clog traffic. With more people and vehicles on the road, the rush hour is now three hours long. So what are city planners doing about it? In the nation's capital, home to some of the worst congestion, traffic modelers are working on solutions to the problem. From understanding human behavior to designing intelligent highways, the modelers are working to make your commute easier. Producer Richard Paul reports.

Working NightsWe're all animals, and like the bears and deer, our bodies are
governed by Circadian rhythms -- biological imperatives to
sleep and to wake. So what happens if your job is in conflict with
those rhythms? Producer Stephen Smith stays up late with some
night workers and some biological experts to examine the effects
of the graveyard shift on the human body and mind.

September 8

America's JourneyAmericans ended 2001 struggling to understand a dramatically changed world. Since September the 11th, they have been on an emotional voyage that is at once profoundly personal, and yet shared by all. It's a voyage of reflection, pain, fear, and hope. And in many ways it's embodied by one man. He is a New York truck driver who was one of the first to race to Ground Zero to clear the rubble and witness the devastation. On America's Journey we hear his voice, and the voices of others from all over the United States.

War Comes to Twin PeaksWar Comes to Twin Peaks explores the rumblings of protest at home during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. From a priest who takes up the anti-war protests, disillusioned war veterans, and a mother who fears for her son as he departs for service, War Comes to Twin Peaks shows us the varied human faces affected by administration policy. Their stories strike a familiar chord as the United States again confronts the possibility of war with Iraq more than a decade later.

September 1

Who's Got the Dog?Divorce has an immediate impact on family and friends beyond the couple and their children. Marcia Sheinberg of the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy in NY says that the crisis that a divorce creates in the wider network of relationships has been underexplored. It underscores the fact that divorce is more traumatic than we as a society acknowledge. It is not the quick paper solution of a society which discards and moves on all to easily.
The program explores the ripple effects of divorce – how divorce has an impact far beyond the immediate family. In part, this is personal reflection from the producer's own divorce -- Kampfner discovered that there were people who were shocked, in pain and grieving about her family break up and that she felt obligated to console and reassure them. It both made her feel guilty and blessed to know that we are more closely bound to a wide orbit of friends and relatives than we realize. Who’s Got the Dog? will look at how we think we live only in nuclear families, but are actually tied to a community and it often takes a crisis to realize this.

Picture from a late-1990's Halloween in Chicago of Milo the Bee, with Alex as Toto's human and Max as Dogbert's human.

Mixed BlessingsElsie Tu came to Hong Kong from Britain in the 1950s as a married missionary. She fell in love with one of her Chinese converts, controversially divorced her husband and married her Chinese love. She later became a very vocal activist in Hong Kong politics, and wrote a book about her relationship called "Shouting at the Mountain".
In Mixed Blessings, Producers Sarah Passmore and Clarence Yang from Radio Television Hong Kong compare Elsie's experiences with modern East/West relationships, and they take a look at why, in the 21st century, Asian men marrying Western women is still relatively rare. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

August 2006

August 25

Hungry for JusticeA small group of citizens attempts to help 18 men who are on a hunger strike in a New Zealand prison. The men from Pakistan, India and Iran arrived in the country seeking refugee status, but have been jailed pending resolution of their claims. Join producer Allan Coukell of Radio New Zealand for their story.

Meccano SetBetween 1951 and 1957, the New Zealand government hanged eight men for murder. Of the fifty or so witnesses present at the executions, only a handful remain. Weaving first hand accounts of police officers and journalists, with the rummagings of a curator working on material evidence of the gallows and a sociologist's recordings on the colonial judiciary, the Meccano Set, tells a thought proving story that resonates even today.

August 18

McDonaldization of Hong KongHong Kong is know as a city where time is money
and money is everything. But it's also,
arguably, home to the best Chinese food in the
world, the origin of a cuisine as rich and subtle
as that of France or Japan; so why do so many
locals choose burgers, pizza and fried
chicken when they want a meal out? Does that
mean they're becoming more like Sydney-siders,
New Yorkers and Parisians? Radio Hong Kong's
Hugh Chiverton talks to the man who brought fast
food (and queueing) to Hong Kong, and hears how
Hong Kong is selling it right back to America.

Big in JapanEvery year thousands of Americans pack their bags and move to Japan. They go in hopes of making it big in one of Japan's most lucrative industries... English. Desperate to learn the language, Japanese schools, businesses and government agencies offer small fortunes to just about anyone who can help teach English. No experience necessary. The Americans who flock to Japan each year make up one of the more eclectic if not strange and often comical subcultures of our nation's social landscape. While many are well-educated with the best intentions, a large number are complete misfits drawn to Japan by the low qualifications and high pay of the English teaching industry. Our documentary profiles this unique subculture and explores the surreal world that surrounds them in Japan.

August 11

The Dragon that Slew St. GeorgeIn the early 1950's, life was peaceful in the almost exclusively Mormon community in
the small town of St. George, Utah. But then, radiation linked illnesses began to
appear. Families lost mothers and husbands, children died. St. George and its people
were the victims of radioactive dust, drifting over from atmospheric atomic tests,
carried out in the Nevada desert. Only in recent years has the government acknowledged weapons testing as the likely cause of killing or sickening civilians downwind. The Justice Department started a compensation program that requires victims to prove they have a qualifying type of cancer and that they were residents of counties in southern Utah, Nevada, or Arizona. Many victims have been compensated, but the money has run out and an estimated $70 million worth of claims are still unfulfilled. Producer Wayne Brittenden of the British Broadcasting Corporation, talked to the 'downwinders' and reports on the official cover-up by the U.S. government and the Mormon church.

The Cold Walk HomeChances are you've encountered a drunken man, staggering around in the streets. Occasionally, the local police may take the louder ones to the station, clap them in the drunk tank, and do the paperwork. Unofficially, there's the "midnight ride" or the "starlight tour", as they call it in Saskatoon. Drive the guy to the outskirts of town and leave him to find his way back. When two men were found frozen to death on a winter's night, two years ago, it opened an investigation and divided a town. CBC producer Bob Carty reports from Saskatoon

August 4

A Hiroshima StoryOn a sunny August morning in 1945, Keijiro Matsushima sat in his math class in Hiroshima. He looked out the window, saw two American bombers in the clear blue sky, and suddenly his world was torn apart. Now a retired English teacher, he fears young people today are no longer interested in his story.
On a sunny June morning in 2005, Amsterdam English teacher Kevin Hogan’s 11th grade class are reading a novel about Hiroshima. They are the same age Mr. Matsushima was sixty years ago. How will they react when they hear his story?
A Hiroshima Story was produced by David Swatling of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Flight from KosovoThe war in Serbia and the subsequent displacement of Albanians has become a
savage epilogue to the 20th century. Tens of thousands fled their homes for
the refugee camps in neighboring countries. The camps, giant tent cities,
housed twenty to thirty thousand people in overcrowded conditions. Heat, starvation, long lines and fatigue epitomized the tragedy of their nation. As NATO troops entered Kosovo, Operation Safe Haven was launched as a humanitarian effort, to evacuate thousands of refugees from the war zone to safe havens until the situation stabilized. This is the story of 19-year old
Tony and his flight from the refugee camp to Australia. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

July 2006

July 28

Residence ElsewhereSettling down. It's a term that's associated with maturity, with being well-adjusted. The converse-- a person drifting from place to place-- is usually regarded with some suspicion and wariness. If, in the act of settling down, we join mainstream society, then the documentary, "Residence Elsewhere," is about someone living on the margins. His name is Doug Alan and he's a musician. His chosen life- style is that of urban nomad. Alan moves from city to city in a self-crafted mobile home--a life on wheels. He is in Chicago at the moment, making improvements to his rolling home. His story is layered with a chorus of three other Chicago nomads in varying stages of arrival and departure. All of them are trying to define the meaning of "home," when you're constantly on the move.

The HaircutA tale of love lost, a haircut, and romantic redemption. Producer Ira Glass shares the trauma of breaking off a relationship, and the healing process that began when he cut off his hair. We hear from those affected by his haircut -- his new girlfriend, his mother -- and the change of heart it brings.

July 21

The Gulag and The Garden of EdenThe apple may have originated not in Mesopotamia, but in
Alma Ata, Kazikstan. There Frank Browning discovers that one of
the world's oldest apple breeding programs is still on-going.
Frank tells us about current efforts to hybridize better apples,
and the place the program has in the global picture.

Grandmother's SeedsThousands of varieties of plants are rapidly disappearing in the United States, especially non-hybrid types of garden vegetables. These are called heirloom varieties, and they're
difficult, if not impossible, to buy from commercial sources. The seeds are instead often passed from gardener to gardener, often in families, and they represent an irreplaceable
genetic heritage that is being lost. Producer Neenah Ellis examines the reasons these seeds are disappearing and the efforts underway to preserve them.

July 14

First Do No HarmFirst Do No Harm is a cautionary tale of two countries, two doctors, and two families. The story surrounds families who lost children, only to have their lives torn apart by criminal investigations, accusing them of murdering their children. The cases involved Dr. Charles Smith, then head of the pediatric forensic pathology unit at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto and a so-called expert witness in those children's deaths in Canada. And in the UK, Dr. Sir Roy Meadow, a former president of the British Pediatric Association, also a distinguished expert witness. A look at what went wrong and what's being done to right them in both countries. This program was produced by Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

First WordsPrompted by the early efforts of her
son,
Kate Howells of the British
Broadcasting Corporation set out to
discover how we go about learning to
talk. Do all babies start off with
the ability to speak any language?
Why are the words 'Mummy'
and 'Daddy' so similar in every
language? What goes on in a baby's
mind and mouth before he is able to
produce his first words? Linguists and
psychologists
share their experiences.

July 7

A True BrotherA cautionary note to homophobes everywhere: Whoever you hate will end up in your family. This according to comedian Chris Rock, who points to real life for the evidence. Take Paul Burke. He's an Evangelical pastor with the Cornerstone Urban Church, in downtown Toronto. Paul Burke was fourteen when he learned that his older brother Timothy was a homosexual. Shocked and disgusted, Paul barely spoke to Timothy for fifteen years. And though he felt called by his faith to work with the poor, the outcasts, the marginalized in society, Paul felt only shame at having a gay brother. Then something shifted. Paul decided to call his brother, and ask for his forgiveness. Since that day, Paul and Timothy Burke have tried hard to build a relationship. In this documentary from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Paul and Timothy tell their story - from childhood in a religious white family in Jamaica, to the painful falling out and the struggle for reconciliation. This program was produced by Frank Faulk, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Gay Ballroom DancingIan and his partner had no experience dancing in competition. Yet they decided to enter the ballroom event at the International Gay Games held in Australia. They kept an audio diary of their training in the Waltz, the Quick Step and the Tango. They also recorded how they learned to glide around the dance floor with confident smiles, even when shaking with nerves and, on one memorable occasion, with Ian's trousers falling down. Ian Poitier steps out onto the dance floor and takes us into the world of ballroom dancing. This program was produced by Louise Swan of the BBC and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

June 2006

June 30

For the Glory of the GameProducer Sam Levene of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents this documentary about a league of base ball
(that's 2 words) enthusiasts who play the game the
way it was first devised in the mid 19th century.
Across the U.S. and Canada, teams regularly meet in period
costume, and without gloves to play a polite, very
gentlemanly (and womanly) version of the game
that's become America's favorite sport. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Baseball PlantationIt's a story about big business, modern colonialism and people struggling to survive; it's also a story about hope, and dreams coming true. In the Dominican Republic, where political corruption and poverty run rampant, baseball is a respite from economic struggle; it is also a way out to a new life in a new country. Baseball is also big business for North American Leagues. Since the '50s, recruitment of young players has been relatively cheap and easy. Now the Japanese have decided to enter the market, bringing new styles of acculturation and baseball. Producer Kathy McAnally looks at the issues with Stan Javier of the Oakland A's; Luis Polonia of the New York Yankees; Epy Guerrero, scout for the Toronto Blue Jays; the retired pitcher Joaquin Andujar; and others.

June 23

Grace to a StrangerThey are the worst of the worse - men who sexually attack children. Their crime revolts everyone. In prison, they are often kept seperate from other inmates for their own protection. But what happens once they are released? Once their crime becomes known, they are the subject of threats, vandalism, and made into pariahs. But in Canada, a small group of Mennonites is trying to change that. Hundreds of ordinary Canadians are now reaching out to pedophiles - trying to reintegrate them into the community. The CBC's Elizabeth Gray has a profile of these neighbors. Her program is called Grace to A Stranger. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Serial KillersProducer Bill Drummond examines the shadowy world of serial killers with Dr. Janice Morrison, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who has extensively interviewed most of Americas known serial killers. In the course of analyzing the thousands of hours of interviews with these notorious killers, she has developed intriguing theories about the reasons serial murderers like John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy are compelled to kill.

June 16

Making FacesMichael Williams-Stark gives comedy improv workshops to a special group of children. Like Michael, they're kids who have cleft palates, or no palates. They meet regularly, and through comedy and performing, they learn to stand up for themselves, to gain confidence and feel less alone. Producer Cate Cochran of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents this program as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Life OutsideThe closure of the last great
institution for the intellectually
disabled in New Zealand has raised a
host of questions about the ongoing process
of deinstitutionalization. For decades,
citizens with intellectually disabled
children relied on these specialist facilities
to provide for their needs. These former 'havens',
have come to be seen as sites of neglect,
abuse, and dehumanizing rigidity.
They became dumping grounds
for a whole range of people who
fell through the gaps in social welfare.
Often isolated, the institutions were also seen as a metaphor for the way in which
society itself chose to deal with the issue.
Producer Matthew Leonard of Radio New Zealand shares the
story of the patients and families, whose lives have been affected. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

June 9

Every Tree Tells A StoryUrban forests provide economic, social and cultural value to neighborhoods and cities. But what are the needs and expectations different ethnic and racial groups have for green space? And how does understanding those needs draw tighter communities? Producer Judith Kampfner compares the cities of New York and London, and the approach new and old ethnic racial and immigrant groups have towards green space. This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Photo of Max's cement square from the revitalized New York City park.

From Brooklyn to Banja LukaAn interesting cross cultural relationship that spans New York, Banja Luka and Amsterdam. Jonathan is a loud New Yorker, a Brooklyn Jew who has been living in Holland for 13 years. He has joint Dutch US nationality, speaks fluent Dutch, and yet remains essentially his boisterous loud American self. He is married to Dragana, a Serbian from Banja Luka, who came here in the midst of the Bosnian war and remains deeply affected by the war and its after effects in her country. They met at a party in Amsterdam ten years ago and have been together ever since. They now have a young trilingual son. The two have much in common - they're clever, loud, extravagant people from musical backgrounds. But she has a Slavic melancholia that contrasts with his wisecracking Jewish humour. In this program, they discuss their different cultures, how they feel being such big personalities living in a country that doesn't seem at first glance particularly suited to their ethnic backgrounds and character, and also the nature of their tempestuous relationship. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

June 2

Cities of the PlainUrban forests in desert settings -- no, this is not about transferring Central Park to L.A. Arid environments have their own "green" cover, and cities destroy and ignore that vegetation to their peril. Veteran producer Bill Drummond travels out West from mountains to shore to ask: when are trees beneficial and when are they not? This program airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Water is GoldMulti-year droughts are an accepted part of life in the Southwest. The summer of 2002 was the worst drought in Arizona in nearly a century. Will the next year be any different? Water is Gold explores the role of climate modeling and the effects of the extreme drought on people, livestock, policy makers and the economy. Find out, if modelers can predict future droughts? Why is the tropical Pacific Ocean important in understanding the droughts in the Southwest? What role do long-range climate models play in assessing drought conditions? Learn how modelers are constantly improving their understanding of the forces and conditions that create climatic and weather events. Producer Lex Gillespie brings the science of climate modeling, in a language you will understand.

May 2006

May 26

Knitting with Dog HairAn entertaining and informative look at knitting with dog hair, from its alleged origins in Catalonia to contemporary practice in Australia. This program will encourage listeners to look at their four legged friends in a new and creative light. Knitting with Dog Hair was produced by Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Dog Day AfternoonsThe arrival of the dog days of summer is marked by the appearance of the Dog Star, Sirius. The Romans believed that Sirius added to the heat of the sun and made dogs more prone to madness. The Romans weren't the only ones fascinated with dogs, add to that list writers, artists, historians and every dog owner today. Radio Netherlands producer and dog lover, David Swatling embarks on a humorous tribute to dogs. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

May 19

The Reason I'm HereOver a four year period from 1988 to 1992, a serial rapist terrorized Calgary, Alberta. He was known as the Hemlock rapist. On June 20th, 2005, the rapist pled guilty, almost 17 years after the first attack. It was on that day, too, that his four victims met and spoke with each other for the first time.
In Canadian courts, the names of sexual assault victims are kept secret for two reasons: To encourage women to step forward freely, and to shield them from public scrutiny and judgment. But in the Hemlock case, two women insisted that the publication ban on their names be lifted. In so doing, they join a mere handful of victims of sexual assault who have chosen to go public with their stories. The two other victims chose to maintain the ban. One is too traumatized to speak at all.
Producer Jane Farrow of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents a story about three women, raped by the same man. Three women who made very different decisions - privately and publicly - about how to deal with the attack on their bodies and their lives. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Try Not to BreatheIt happens more than once, but you can't quite see his face. Sometimes, the sound of the wind outside your bedroom window turns into a tuneless but determined whistle. Then the robberies start.
Therese (not her real name) takes it very seriously. She reports each incident to the police, and investigates herself. She comes to the conclusion that she is being stalked. Months later, the man she suspects is in court - and irrefutably linked to her break-ins - but do the charges reflect his crimes? Producer Lea Redfern of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation follows this complex story, interviewing several women who are watching this case carefully, and hoping for justice. This program is part of our international documentary series, Crossing Boundaries.

May 12

Born FreeBuilt on the site of a colonial era estate, the John Morony Correctional Complex in Sydney’s outer suburban fringe covers 300 acres and all the bases. There are minimum and maximum-security prisons for men, and a women’s prison. There is also accommodation for a seized crocodile, smuggled parrots, endangered snakes, crippled kangaroos and wounded wombats.
In the middle of an Australian summer the sprawling prison grounds are dry, bare and flat, and the whole complex is surrounded by high chain link fences topped with razor wire. Within this forbidding environment there lies an unlikely refuge, a literal sanctuary of green, with a lush garden, shady trees and plenty of water. The wildlife center is part animal hospital, part educational facility – and a congenial workplace for three correctional officers and ten minimum security male inmates.
Producer Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation takes listeners inside a jail to meet up with a group of men for whom working in a cage might even be fun. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Building BlocksSeveral years ago at Long Creek juvenile detention center in Maine, one MIT professor revolutionized the existing school system. He instituted a learning-by-doing program where young offenders spend their day using Legos to build programmable robots - clocks, vehicles and moving fantasy figures. Teens photograph their creations and write diaries proudly chronicling their progress. Can incarcerated youth gain important skills and confidence from such a program or should they be learning discipline in a conventional schoolroom? Producer Judith Kampfner takes us inside the classroom to find out. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

May 5

Mobile Phone TheftOn the streets of Accra, everyone seems to be shouting into a mobile phone. Heading down Tiptoe Lane, which has a reputation for illegal business, there’s a huge selection of second hand phones and business is brisk. The international circulation of stolen mobile phones is hugely profitable. Phones taken in Britain have been traced to Ghana, and London police now run the world’s only dedicated mobile phone unit. In this program from radio station Joy FM, Reporter Sena Atoklo goes on the trail of mobile phone thieves in Ghana, where stealing a phone is the fastest means of making money, much better than taking a wallet that might turn out to be empty. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Trading in TulipsTrading in Tulips has been a Dutch mainstay since
the 1500's, when the first tulip bulb arrived
from Turkey. Since then the Dutch have created a
multi-billion dollar industry. Now, scarcity of
land, new pesticide regulations and vastly
improved air transportation are pushing the Dutch
to grow their bulbs elsewhere, including Turkey
and China. Producer Michelle Ernsting of Radio Netherlands, brings you the story of one family, who has almost completely
moved their operations overseas. This will be
the last year they grow their tulips in Holland.

April 2006

April 28

Triads and FilmEnter the Hong Kong Triad "Underworld", where actors, directors, and police describe the Triad control of the film industry in the 1990s when a whole series of murders, beatings and dodgy dealings went down. That's when the Triad techniques of persuasion allegedly came into play - extortion, blackmail, beatings, rape - to get actors and stunt men to appear in their flicks. Eventually the actors had enough and campaigned against the violence. In “Triads and Film”, Producer Sarah Passmore of Radio Television Hong Kong looks at the current situation in the Hong Kong film industry to see the extent to which it may have broken free of these groups, and how much Triads are still involved in the entertainment industry. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Japan is a safer place to be a fishWith the shooting deaths of two Japanese students in the U.S. in the early 90's, crime in America has been of great concern in Japan. Producer Mary Beth Kirchner interviews Americans and Japanese about the subject of safety and compares the lifestyles of the two countries.

April 21

Kiribati in CrisisAs global warming creates rising sea
levels, no one is perhaps more
vulnerable than people who live on
small islands. Expecting to find a
country battling to keep the sea back,
Radio New Zealand's environmental
reporter, Bryan Crump, traveled to the
atoll nation of Kiribati, which
straddles the equator in the middle of
the Pacific. This thirty-three island
nation lies no more than thirteen feet
above sea level. But Crump found a
nation already in an environmental
crisis of a different sort: overcrowded,
polluted, running out of water,
affected by coastal erosion and
disease. And while much of that is the
result of outside influences, Kiribati
is failing to find solutions.

Schokland - The Island on Dry LandIn the middle of Dutch wheat fields, miles away from the sea rises the little island of Schokland. In the never-ending tug of war with the sea, the Dutch rescued the island from the sea by building one of their famous polder dikes. The island soon bustled as a farming community and a tourist spot. Now the island is sinking, and Radio Netherlands producer Michele Ernsting reports that in a dramatic reversal of their old policy, the Dutch have decided to flood the land around it - to keep Schokland afloat. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance.

April 14

Code GreenCode Green explores the impact that hurricanes have on urban greencover, from integrating trees and wetlands into a city's infrastructure and disaster plan, to post-hurricane damage assessment of city trees and coastal marshes, to recovery and rebuilding. Hear from scientists, city planners and urban foresters about their work to establish, protect and restore the green infrastructure in the wake of catastrophic hurricanes, in coastal cities from Charleston to New Orleans. This program, from Producer Gemma Hooley, airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

Carving the CoastlineNew meteorology tools like satellite data are helping scientists to keep environmental disasters from being a surprise. Measuring coastal changes - from disasters, to rising sea levels caused by global warming, or even the daily pounding of waves upon the seashore - is laborious if done on the ground, and is better done by air. Compounding the problem is that the coastline is forever changing - mostly because of human development. Our program looks at how scientists are mapping coastal erosion patterns using a variety of techniques, including planes, satellites and infrared detection, then using that information to predict impact. We take you up in a small plane with a laser as it maps the North Carolina coast post-hurricane season, then to a town on the West Coast that is literally sliding into the Pacific Ocean.

April 7

Girls Like UsMarisela and Yadira immigrated illegally to the United States as small children. Marisela, who immigrated when she was 7, remembers crossing over the border while lying in the back of a truck. Yadira, who was 3 when she crossed, remembers nothing of her entry into the U.S. Her first memories are of life in California. After their families moved to Denver, Colorado, the two young women met in middle school. Both went on to become star students in high school – AP classes, top ten percent of their class – and recruiters from Colorado colleges were telling them that they would bend over backwards to snag students like them. But of course they had a big problem, which they were afraid to share: They didn’t have Social Security numbers. This meant that they didn't qualify for any federal aid, or for most private scholarships. “Girls Like Us” is the story of two young girls trying to get into college in a country where they are undocumented.

Dream DeferredEach year 5,000 refugee children arrive in the U.S. penniless and alone, seeking asylum and freedom. A third are locked up - some alongside violent offenders. Many are deported back to traumatic home situations. The U.S. government does not provide them with lawyers, yet whether they can stay legally is decided in court. Dream Deferred follows two of these children, Juan Pablo from Honduras and Jimmy from Punjab, India. Why did they leave? What dreams are they chasing? How did they get here and where are they today?

March 2006

March 31

Ana Grows Up"Ana" is Anastasia Bendus, a 13 year-old girl who lives in Ottawa. She uses a wheelchair and has done so all her life She was born when her mother, Pat Erb, was in her 6th month of pregnancy. She weighed just over a kilogram, 2lb 4oz, and could fit in her father's hand. What happens to such a tiny baby? Will she grow up like any other kid? What are the challenges that face the family? Ana went through years of surgery, doctors visits and all sorts of physio and occupational therapy.
Now, l0 years later, Ana Grows Up picks up the story as Ana, her mother, two of Ana's friends and their mother go camping in Fitzroy Harbor Provincial Park. This was their summer vacation and producer Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation went with them. This program is part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Eric and MilenaWe often hear amazing stories of people risking or sacrificing themselves for loved ones. Perhaps you've often wondered what you would do in a similar situation. Radio Netherlands producer Dheera Sujan meets a remarkable couple. One a young American man, who met the woman of his dreams, a Dutch student. Shortly after they married, Eric contracted a form of Multiple Sclerosis that left him debilitated, paralyzed from the neck down. Told in first person, Eric and Milena is an incredible love story. This program is part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

March 24

Totally Hidden VideoThrough the medium they call 'totally hidden video,' a group of Harlem 7th graders present a disarming perspective on life in their neighborhoods, at school and on the playgrounds, and at home. Producer Mary Beth Kirchner first explained the use of microphones and tape recorders to a small workshop of 7th graders at The Children's Storefront school, and then let them take over. They've selected the subject matter and conducted the interviews for this humorous and touching self-portrait.

My So Called LungsLaura Rothenberg is 21 years old, but, as she
likes to say, she already had her mid-life crisis
a couple of years ago, and even then it was a few
years late. Laura has cystic fibrosis, a genetic
disorder that affects the lungs and other organs.
People with CF live an average of 30 years. Two
years ago, we gave Laura a tape recorder. Since
that time, Laura has been keeping an audio diary
of her battle with the disease and her attempts
to lead a normal life with lungs than often
betray her.

March 17

Identity FraudIdentity theft is the fastest growing crime in Britain, but most people are still unaware of how vulnerable they are. Even the smallest piece of information about any one of us – an envelope with a name and address, for example – could be the first piece of the jigsaw the fraudster needs to start building up a picture. And it’s an increasingly sophisticated crime, with identities stolen not just to get money or credit, but also for use by organized gangs involved in prostitution, drug and people trafficking.
It’s the so-called ‘victimless crime’, because it’s the banks and credit card companies who eventually have to pay out. But as the victims explain, convincing the financial institutions that your identity has been stolen, and that you know nothing about the debt they insist you owe them, is a long and worrying process.
Producer Simon Cox of the BBC demonstrates how easy it is to be duped by plausible individuals determined to get personal information, how the contents of our trash bins provide clues that can easily be followed up, and hears how victims, police and criminals regard Identity Fraud. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

RevengeIt seems we all love to hear revenge stories --
the petty ones and the grand -- even when they
are painful or the recipient is blameless. And we
seem to love to tell revenge stories about
ourselves -- even stories that make us look
childish or venal. Revenge visits the unspoken
dark place where revenge impulses lie through the
stories of people who have planned revenge and
those who have carried it out.

March 10

Running with AtalantaTen years ago, two young women were studying law – one in The Netherlands and the other in Latvia. Years later their lives would intersect. Ruth Hopkins, researching a European Commission report on the trafficking of women, interviewed Anna Ziverte – a victim who had been forced to work as a prostitute in Rotterdam.
The number of women trafficked and exploited in the sex trade annually in Europe is estimated to be as high as 700,000. Nearly a third are trafficked from Eastern and Central European countries. Ziverte escaped her traffickers only to find herself entangled in another nightmare – a Dutch system where victims are perceived as illegal immigrants. Taking matters into her own hands, she founded a support group called Atalantas, inspired by the swift-footed goddess from Greek mythology who could outrun any man.
Producer David Swatling of Radio Netherlands follows the journey of two women trying to find the light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Fear on the Inside: Diary of Domestic ViolenceProducer Dan Collison documents a week in the life of "Anna," a battered woman in Chicago. The documentary begins three
days after Anna's estranged husband has threatened to kill her and their baby at gunpoint. Anna keeps an audio journal of her
attempt to have her husband, who she says beat her repeatedly before they separated, arrested. She tells of her frustration with
the police and legal system and of her attempt to live a "normal life."

March 3

The Changing Face of Neighborhood CrimeA look at how neighborhoods change as new people move in, and when urban dwellers go to the suburbs. Race and class are issues here, with perceptions that crime rates are rising, fuelled by preconceptions about race. The program profiles the town of Laurel, Maryland, a midway point between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, where Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama was shot and paralyzed during his presidency campaign in 1972. The governor was there appealing to the mostly white constituents. However today Laurel is a town better characterized by its growing minority and ethnic populations, and also by crime. We investigate how the town has changed in the past 30 plus years, and whether crime is actually on the increase, or whether the perception of crime is what is changing. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: The World of Crime.

Detroit DialogueLike many American cities, Detroit has survived cycles of decay and renewal. Producer Susan Davis invites you to lunch with a group of long-time friends and former neighbors--six local women, spanning two generations, three of them African-American, three of them Jewish. Listen as they share their memories of neighborhoods and a time when the city's racial divide could be conquered over a backyard fence or a kitchen table. They talk about what it means to build a real sense of community, and how easily it can be lost, as well as their hopes and dreams for the city's future.

February 2006

February 24

Short CircuitLiterally synaesthesia means "a crossing of the senses." In practice synaesthetes may see colors when they hear music, or experience taste when they are touched. Letters and numbers have individual colors and words can appear as paintings. For a long time it was thought that synaesthetes were fabricating their experiences, but recent neurological studies show that they do in fact perceive things like music or words with several senses. In Short Circuit, people with synaesthesia talk about the difficulties of explaining what they see, hear and taste. We also hear from two artists, Carol Steen and Ans Salz, who use their work to translate the complex landscape of their minds. This program was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Upright GrandA document of the poignant moment in the life of
Producer Tim Wilson's own mother, a daunting figure and
a once-accomplished pianist, now diagnosed with
Alzheimer's, when she is forced to leave her
apartment, her pearls, and her 'upright grand' to
enter 'a home.' Upright Grand turns into a
searching examination of the often ambiguous
relationship between a mother and son.

February 17

After Katrina: Charmaine Neville's StoryBorn into the third generation of the legendary musical family, jazz singer Charmaine Neville has always called New Orleans ‘home’. And when Hurricane Katrina headed for the Gulf Coast, she stayed in New Orleans because she didn't have a car or money. She also didn't think Hurricane Katrina would be serious. In fact, she was trapped in water for five days, with great fear that she was going to die. But she survived. She witnessed dire events – death, rape, robbery. Overshadowing all of that, she witnessed a community working together to survive – neighbors, elderly people, children. This is Charmaine’s account of Hurricane Katrina, interwoven with her own music.

Vietnam BluesVince Gabriel is a Maine-based blues musician who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience in the Vietnam War. In this program, Vince takes listeners chronologically through his time in Vietnam, with his music leading us into stories about getting drafted, arriving in the jungle, what combat was like, the loss of his closest friend, the relief of finally returning home, and his reflections on the legacy of Vietnam today. Vince's stories give listeners an almost visceral sense of what it's like for those on the front lines. Though it is an account of a war that took place years ago, Vince's observations feel disturbingly immediate and poignant. Producer Christina Antolini brings us the "Vietnam Blues."

February 10

The Education of Charles 67xThe political philosophy of Black Nationalism, which maintains that African Americans can govern themselves in their own
nation, has deep roots in Chicago. Journalist Askia Muhammad returns to Chicago to explore his grounding in Black
Nationalism. As editor of the Nation of Islam's newspaper 20 years ago, he learned a great deal about Black Nationalism at
Elijah Muhammad's dinner table in Hyde Park.

Conversations in a Black BarbershopJoin us as we spend an afternoon in a barbershop in Washington DC run by black Muslims. The conversation runs from issues of religion and family, to school, sports and the political system, all set against the buzz of the hairclippers and the busy neighborhood ambience of this informal gathering place.

February 3

SurvivorIn 1942 a US Navy destroyer was shipwrecked off Newfoundland. Of the few who survived, one man, Lanier Phillips, was black. The rescuers, never having seen a black man before, tried to scrub his skin clean and white. This is a story about growing up with fear in segregated Georgia, enlisting in a segregated navy, facing death in the icy North Atlantic, and a rescue which galvanized a man to fight racial discrimination.

The Homeboy and the HurricaneRubin "Hurricane" Carter, the number one contender for the middleweight crown and outspoken civil rights advocate, was convicted of a triple murder in 1966 and was sentenced to three life terms. Lazarus Martin was fifteen, essentially illiterate, and trying to survive a violent ghetto in Brooklyn. Both their lives were changed through the efforts of a group of aging Canadian hippies who took in Lazarus and took on Carter's legal cause. Producer Jon Kalish brings us the fascinating story of the friendship between Carter and Lazarus, and the struggle to earn Carter's release.

January 2006

January 27

The Urban Forest Healing CenterFrom the time he wrote ‘Walden – Life in the Woods’ philosopher Henry David Thoreau understood the restorative value of trees to the human soul. More than 100 years later researchers are discovering that a pleasurable walk among trees and green space can calm an active child, refresh a tired mind, and make all of us feel better. The view of a tree outside a window can make an office worker more productive, a hospital stay shorter, or a prison sentence more bearable. Even in the most deprived inner city, trees and green space around buildings reduce crime and violence as well as promote a sense of community and well-being. In our series, Tales from Urban Forests, Jean Snedegar explores the power of trees to restore us, body and mind.

Curanderismo: Folk Healing in the SouthwestIn an age of high-tech, highly specialized medicine, the ancient healing arts of Curanderismo are an attractive alternative. When they are ill, Mexican-Americans in the southwestern states often prefer to visit the curandero-- the traditional healer-- who uses herbs, aromas, and rituals to treat the ills of their body, mind and spirit. It is a much more personal approach to treating illness -complex, but not necessarily scientific- and one that modern health care professionals in the region are now exploring, and in some cases embracing as a healing tool.

January 20

The Public Green and the PoorNumerous times in American history, reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature -- the belief being that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently. And it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program, from Producer Richard Paul, looks at a time in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor. It airs as part of our ongoing series, Tales from Urban Forests.

RoadsFrom reckless taxi drivers to women who are digging ditches and breaking rock by hand, roads are a buzzword in South Africa. Driving cattle is tough under any circumstances. But try crossing a six-lane highway every day - now that is real trouble. When it's your livelihood, you improvise with a daring plan. In South Africa, where everything is political and much is symbolic, rebuilding the country's road infrastructure requires an inventive philosophy, a ground-breaking plan, and hands willing to implement it at every level.

January 13

The Evolution BoomerangAs humans continue to make their imprint on Earth, they find they are making a noticeable difference in the evolution of different species. The Evolution Boomerang looks at the effect humans are having on insects, fish and certain kinds of bacterium, and how that evolution is in turn affecting humans.

SanctuaryOur series Global Perspectives: Nature in the Balance continues with a visit to Australia. In one small corner of Australia, just off one of the country's busiest expressways, the Cohen family is cultivating 80 acres of natural bush land, with the aim of reintroducing vulnerable native animals. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Nick Franklin explores the legacy of Australia's early acclimatizers, the reality of modern 'nature' as opposed to romantic notions of 'wilderness,' and one family's expensive experiment in nature conservation.

January 6

A Visit to SedonaJust two hours south of the Grand Canyon, the scenic remote village of Sedona, Arizona, has gone from being an isolated haven for visual artists and retirees to a bustling center of New Age activity. Sedona is now home to an increasing number of young seekers who claim that the land has powerful healing energies. The population has doubled in recent times and longtime residents and local Native tribesmembers are concerned about the destruction of the land and the removal of sacred artifacts from the ruins, as well as the misappropriation of traditional culture by well meaning New Age seekers. Producer Njemile Rollins talks with members of local tribes, longtime residents, and new arrivals to Sedona who come seeking inner peace, fulfillment and new cultural identities.

Greetings from White AustraliaIn the closets of many suburban homes lurk some of the strangest representations of Aboriginal people and culture - chubby piccaninnies, reclining dusky nudes, bearded warriors - on everything from tea towels to ashtrays. This mass-produced Aboriginalia we now call kitsch. Producer Lorena Allam was content to let these souvenirs of white Australia gather dust in op shops ... until she found a hoard of them in her grandmother's house. Greetings from White Australia was produced by Lorena Allam of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

December 2005

December 30

Songs of the Humpback WhalesThey are among the largest mammals on earth, but also among the most invisible: humpback whales are an enigma to scientists who can't observe much of their underwater activities. To unlock the secrets of humpback behavior, researchers have turned to sound to hear what they cannot see. Join us on an underwater visit to the whales on their feeding grounds near Sitka, Alaska. The remarkable sounds discovered there are causing scientists to forge new theories about whales and why they sing.

There's No Word for RobinIn Canada, the warning signs that global warming may be having a long-term effect on the climate are subtle. In the far north of Canada, where the land is defined by ice, ice is slowly melting - and for the first time, people who live in Northern Canada are seeing plants and animals much more familiar to those of us in the South. Producer Bob Carty of the CBC travels north to see how people are adapting to the changes. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspectives: Nature in the Balance.

December 23

A Bird in the HandAvian Flu has hit many Asian countries, but Hong Kong, where the disease first spread to humans, has not been affected. Still, there are increasing calls to end the sale of live chickens which are chosen and killed at markets and shops across the city. Should Hong Kong stop the sale of freshly slaughtered chicken? Scientists agree this simple public health measure would reduce the risk of a worldwide pandemic which has killed tens of millions. But what if that measure goes against habit, culture and tradition; and what if no one can calculate the risk? How much is a bird in the hand really worth? Producers Hugh Chiverton and Sophia Yow of Radio Television Hong Kong present A Bird in the Hand as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

ChickensProducer Adi Gevins presents both a lighthearted and serious examination of chickens and their
relationship to humans in historical, cultural, economic and institutional contexts.

December 16

Mummers at the DoorLong before Santa, Bing Crosby and the Mattel Toy Company stole the occasion, even before Christianity itself kidnapped it, the Winter Solstice was celebrated with seasonal ritual. One ancient solstice custom is Mummering. Still practiced annually in many parts of England and Ireland, this great-grand-daddy of Halloween masquerade died out in much of Canada and the United States centuries ago. In North America today it is a popular part of Christmas now only in Newfoundland and Pennsylvania.

On any night during the twelve days of Christmas you may hear a pounding on your door and strange indrawn voices shouting outside: Any mummers allowed? Whether allowed or not, the mummers will tumble in, loud and masked and rowdy and possibly threatening, turning normal household decorum upside down. They may be friends or complete strangers, and unless you can guess their identities you cannot be sure who is behind the mask or whether their intentions are benign. They are certain to track muddy boots across your carpet, play music, demand drink and act outrageously. All over Newfoundland, these rough-and-tumble spirits of the ancient winter solstice have survived despite the religious and commercial hoopla of modern Christmas.

Photos courtesy of Paul Turner

Changing Spaces: Hampden, BaltimoreProducer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community.

December 9

The Busker and the DivaMargaret Leng Tan and James Graseck were boyfriend and girlfriend while they both attended Julliard in 1970. Margaret was offered a place by a Juilliard scout who came to her native Singapore. At the age of 16, she became a piano major in New York. She loved New York, but James who came from Long Island, found it dirty - hating the streets and the noise. That hasn’t stopped him in his chosen line of work -- for the last 20 years he’s been a busker - a street musician, well known in the subway system. Margaret meanwhile has had a long career as an unconventional pianist as a protege of John Cage and in the words of the New York Times "a diva of the toy piano".
While at Julliard, Margaret and James drifted apart because they were studying different instruments and had different courses, and they lost touch when they graduated.
Their very different musical lives took them in different directions but recently, their paths crossed again, in the bowels of Grand Central station. Their meeting quickly developed once again into an intimate relationship, physically, emotionally and professionally. Producer Judith Kampfner traces their reunion and the obstacles to their relationship, which lie more in their approaches to music making and their polarized positions in the musical spectrum than their bond as individuals. This is the story of both their personal romance, and their professional lives.

Van Gogh and GauguinVincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of the late 19th century. A brief but intense collaboration occurred between the two artists. They met in Paris in the autumn of 1887. Each man tried to learn from the other and admired the other's work. Their collaboration was marked at first by mutual support and dialogue, but there was also competition and friction. The men differed sharply in their views on art: Gauguin favored working from memory and allowing abstract mental processes to shape his images, while Vincent held an unshakeable reverence for the physical reality of the observable world of models and Nature. This is reflected in the very different techniques each artist used. But toward the end of 1888, a series of violent incidents around Christmas Eve brought a dramatic end to their collaboration. This is the story of their personal and professional relationship.

December 2

Gut ReactionThere is a disease you've probably never heard of, but chances are you have it or someone you know or love has it and doesn't know. Doctors now believe that one in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, though only one in 4,700 gets diagnosed. Celiac Disease is an intestinal disorder where, when you eat wheat, barley or rye, your immune system attacks the food as if it were a virus. The results are devastating and painful. Celiac is more common than diabetes and hypertension, but because the means to diagnose it are only two or three years old, the disease is practically unknown in this country -- both to sufferers and their doctors. Producer Richard Paul presents the story of how Celiac Disease played itself out in the lives of 10 people.

London: The Superbug Capital of the World?Newspaper headlines have dubbed London "the superbug capital of the world" because of the number of deadly infections, such as MRSA, in the city's hospitals. But across Britain there has been an alarming rise in infections caused by bugs resistant to antibiotics and poor standards of cleanliness have been identified as a major cause. Many people are genuinely scared at the prospect of hospital treatment and the National Health Service is taking steps to improve hospital hygiene, including setting up the post of Ward Housekeeper. In this program, we meet patients and staff in the Lane Fox Respiratory Unit at St. Thomas' Hospital on the banks of the River Thames. Here an infection control initiative has been launched that's a model for the rest of Britain. We spend a day on Lane Fox ward, following Ward Housekeeper Charles Bell and Ward Sister Hazel Chisholm, as they work, often against the odds, to ensure that a stay in hospital does not leave their patients in a worse state than when they arrived. This program was produced by Gillian Gray of the BBC and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

November 2005

November 25

Inside ArtA swirling soundscape of music, storytelling, and tall tales, created by producer Tom Skelly, testifies to the role art plays as a
tool for survival in prison. As the multi-art director of the California Institute for Men in Chino, Skelly is able to collect sounds
that capture the real importance of art in the lives of the incarcerated.

Learning to Live: James' Story"Learning to Live: James' Story" documents the journey of James Robinson, a 38 year old ex-offender, as he makes the transition from repeated prison sentences to life in the free world. After a 7-year prison term, James arrives at St. Leonard's halfway house for ex-offenders in Chicago. He tells the staff that he needs to "learn to live," knowing full well how hard it is to transition back to society on his own. "James' Story" chronicles James' hard work over the course of ensuing three months; job training, drug counseling and 12-step support meetings. During his stay at the halfway house, James also finds his "dream" job and reconnects with family members, including an eighteen-year-old son he hadn't seen since the child was four.

November 18

Go Tell it on the MountainIt was born in the oral culture of African slaves in the American south. It was embraced by the civil rights movement in the 1960's. Today it is a perennial favorite at Christmas concerts and church services across North America. The spiritual Go Tell It on the Mountain has come to mean many things depending on the time and place in which it is sung - freedom anthem, hymn of faith, a simple song of Christmas. As is the case with most spirituals, its music and lyrics cannot be attributed to any one person. African American composer John Wesley Work is credited with formally adapting the song and including it in a songbook in 1907. But the versions of Go Tell it on the Mountain are as varied and distinctive as the people performing it. But it is always, at its heart, a song of joy. This program comes to us from Producer Jean Dalrymple of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Living History in Colonial WilliamsburgStep back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, following a woman whose job it is to play an 18th slave character in Colonial Williamsburg; a woman who must learn, in 2004, to interpret and recreate 1770 slave culture for a tourist audience. The story is told through this character's own narration and reflection, her interaction with other historical characters and with the tourist public in Williamsburg, and through documentation of her daily tasks. As she steps in and out of character, we discover what it's like to step in and out of history: re-enacting the mundanities and tensions of 18th century life in the fields and kitchens during the day and negotiating a modern 21st century life after visiting hours.

November 11

FootprintsWhen archeologist Dave Roberts stumbled across a set of small indentations in a sandstone
boulder on South Africa's remote West Coast, he knew they were ancient human footprints.
What he did not anticipate, though, was the series of events that his discovery would set in
motion. In a country where the social, political and cultural history is being rewritten, the
footprints represent more than just scientific evidence of human evolution. From those with a
vested interest in challenging that evidence, to those who embrace the footprints as an
affirmation of the past, this is a story of perspective and policy in the new South Africa.

Fire and IceThe Eskimos in Alaska have a legend that they call "The year of no summer". One year, summer never came, winter just continued. No one could fish or hunt. And nothing could grow. The story is a creation myth. A few survivors were left to form what is now the Kauwerak tribe. Scientists are now looking at the legend as another piece of evidence for what they believe was a major climate shift in the Northern Hemisphere. Producer Dan Grossman takes on a journey to discover the truth behind the legend.

This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance. Click on the following link to find out more.
Global Perspective

November 4

New Norcia: The Monastery and the ObservatoryIn Western Australia, there's a small and somewhat surreal town called New Norcia. It's Australia's only Monastic town - with a surprising and imposing collection of Spanish style buildings. New Norcia was established in the 1850s as a 'Spanish Benedictine Monastery.' Today, a handful of monks continue the ancient tradition of prayer, work and service in their search for God. Now, New Norcia is also the home to one of the European Space Agency's largest tracking stations. A monastery next to an observatory might seem incongruous, however these neighbors have forged an unlikely understanding. Both groups are exploring the riddle of existence and space, in different ways. This program was produced by Roz Bluett of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Gamma Ray SkiesThirty years ago, a U.S. spy satellite searching for clandestine nuclear weapons tests detected frequent, but brief, bursts of powerful gamma-rays. Fortunately for world peace, they came from space, not from the Earth. Astronomers have puzzled over the origin of these bursts ever since. For close to twenty years after their discovery, gamma-ray bursts remained so mysterious that astronomers could not decide whether they came from nearby stars or galaxies on the far edge of the Universe. Only in the last few years has it become clear that they do, in fact, come from galaxies tens of billions of light-years away. To appear so bright at Earth, and yet come from such distant sources, the explosions that generate these gamma-rays must be truly enormous.

October 2005

October 28

Hags and NightmaresIt's the middle of the night. You wake up with a start. There's a presence in the room watching you. You sense that it is evil. But you are paralyzed and powerless. It's your worst nightmare, or is it? This program looks at a strangely common condition called sleep paralysis in which people are dreaming while they are awake and are unable to move. Psychologist Al Cheyne explores what happens to the body during these episodes and tries to explain why the experience is so terrifying. Sleep paralysis appears to be the source of some of our most terrifying myths and legends, and it has inspired artists through the ages. Hags and Nightmares was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands, and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Halloween: The Time Between Put on your scariest costume and go trick-or-treating again in this portrait of the personal--and cultural--meanings of Halloween.
Derived from ancient beliefs about the the dangers of times of transition--the end of October marks the time between the summer and winter seasons,between earth's time of life and death--and this is the theme of the holiday.
Incorporating Celtic rituals with Catholic ones, involving the dead coming back to possess the spirit of the living, and the living trying to hide or scare the spirits away, the modern American holiday has developed its own set of strange rituals. Hear a myriad of voices tell about their memories of Halloween--the tricks, but especially the treats.

October 21

The BattlersThis documentary takes us deep into the experience of Australia's urban poor. We accompany the volunteers of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, past the million dollar real estate, the mansions, swimming pools and harbor views of Sydney's eastern suburbs, into the homes and lives of the real battlers - people unable to afford to keep a roof over their heads, or feed and clothe their children. This program comes to us from Producer Sharon Davis of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Power of the UnemployedPierce Power was a charismatic man who
stood up to Newfoundland's Commission
government and fought for the rights of
the poor and unemployed in the 1930s. To
some, he was a hero; others called him a
fraud. Producer Chris Brooks brings us
the chronicles of Powers little-known
life.

October 14

Watershed 263In urban areas across the country, trees and grass have been replaced with pavement and concrete. Storm water runoff from these paved surfaces in cities can be saturated with harmful substances such as gasoline, oil and trash. We head to the inner city of Baltimore where partners have joined forces to clean up the runoff flowing into the harbor and into the Chesapeake Bay, and at the same time to improve the quality of life for the residents living there.

The Blackwater EstuaryOver the centuries the south and southeast of England have been tipping into the sea, the legacy of the last Ice Age. In fact, concrete walls to keep the sea out surround the entire Essex coast. But now environmental managers are beginning to rethink that fortress policy. Maintaining the defenses is expensive, especially when the walls must constantly be repaired and rebuilt. And to what end? Britain is no longer a farming nation, in need of all the land it can get. On the banks of the Blackwater Estuary, there's a 700-acre farm that's become an experiment in coastal management. The walls are going to come down and the farm will be returned to the sea - becoming a system of soft defenses, like marshes and mudflats. As the BBC's Stephen Beards reports, the farm could become a model of managed retreat from the battle with the sea. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspectives: Nature in the Balance.

October 7

Sleeping through the DreamIn 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King led the March on Washington and spoke the famous words "I have a dream." Then 18 year-old Producer Askia Muhammad was, as he recalls, 'sleeping through the dream.' Growing up in Los Angeles, Muhammad was far away from the civil rights uproar and any self-proclaimed political consciousness. Now 40 years later, Muhammad revisits his youth with two close friends. Join us for the journey of a young man's political awakening during a time of intense social unrest.

Keysville, GA: Old Dreams, New SouthOn January 4, 1988, 63-year-old Emma Gresham
became the first black mayor - the first
mayor in half a century- of Keysville, Georgia.
She won the election over her opponent by 10
votes. In the town courthouse, on a trailer
mounted on cinderblocks, a banner reads:
Justice Knows No Boundaries. It's a constant
reminder of both the town's troubled history
and the dreams the mayor has for the town.
In this small, mostly black, southern town,
Emma Gresham employed education, patience,
and political action, along with her famous
biscuits, to realize her dream of a better
life for her constituents. Producer Dan Collison
takes us to Keysville for a look at the struggle
for survival in the town that time forgot.

September 2005

September 30

Dear Birth MotherAfter waiting for Mr. Right (who has yet to arrive) – and after years of fertility treatments – Suzanne, a single woman in her forties, decided to adopt. She chose transracial adoption. We follow her through workshops designed to "teach white people to raise kids of color," baby-shopping trips with Mom at Target, a critical rendezvous with a young mother at a pancake house, and, finally, a magical night at a suburban restaurant chain. We followed Suzanne for several months as she waited to see if she would become a parent; she offered extraordinary access into her home, and really, into every aspect of her life.

The Orphan Train"The Orphan Train" is an unnarrated documentary about one of the least known and yet most significant social experiments in American history. In September 1854, the first "orphan train" carried 46 homeless children from New York City to far off homes to become laborers in the pioneer West. It was the first step in what was to become the emigration of as many as 250,000 orphan children to new homes throughout the entire United States. Some children found kind homes and families, others were overworked and abused. Widely duplicated throughout its 75 year history, the original orphan train was the creation and life project of the now forgotten man who was to become the father of American child welfare policy. This documentary features interviews with surviving orphan train riders, as well as readings from historical newspapers, letters and journals, and is laced with classical and folk music.

September 23

Kinshasa StoryHead off to one of the great music capitals of the world, Kinshasa, on the banks of the mighty Congo River in Central West Africa. This Kinshasa Story is all about music and music makers - from well established stars, to hopeful wannabes with nothing more than a set of empty cans as drums. Our guide is Melbourne musician and some time disc jockey, Miriam Abud. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Music HouseMusic is the life-blood of the Baka Pygmies, the rainforest people of the Cameroon. They use music to enchant the animals of the forest before the hunt, to cure illnesses and to overcome disputes. Everyone sings and plays and there is no sense of performer and audience. The Euro-African band 'Baka Beyond' have been making music inspired by their visits to the Baka for over ten years. On this visit, at the request of the Baka, the band are taking an English timber-frame specialist to build a music house for them, paid for
with royalties from Baka Beyond's recordings. In this program, Producer Eka Morgan travels to the forest to meet the Baka and members of the band while they build the music house.

September 16

Something's Happening HereA trickle of humanity is showing up at Canadian border crossings: U.S. military deserters who don't want to fight in Iraq. And they are asking Canada for refuge, as it once was during the Vietnam War. Over the decades, many things have changed; there was a draft then, none now---at least not yet. But today's war resisters are not that different from the ones who came before. Their stories are wrapped up in the politics of Canada-US relations - in soul-wrenching deliberations and life-changing decisions - in the intense interplay of the forces of love, and family and country. This program comes to us from Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Remembering Kent State 1970When thirteen students were shot by Ohio National Guard Troops during a war demonstration on the Kent State University Campus on the first week of May 1970, four young lives were ended and a nation was stunned. More than 30 years later, the world at war is a different place. However, those thirteen seconds in May, 1970 still remain scorched into an Ohio hillside. Through archival tape and interviews, Remembering Kent State tracks the events that led up to the shootings.

September 9

24 hours on the Edge of Ground ZeroWhat was life like around the perimeter of Ground Zero in the months following September 11th? Beginning at 7 am on December 12th, 2001, Jad Abumrad and Sesh Kannan collected conversations, stories and sounds between the perimeter and Nino's restaurant, a 24 hour eatery open only to rescue workers. 24 Hours on the Edge of Ground Zero explores the landscape that has become disaster area, tourist attraction and shrine. The program paints a compelling portrait: the rescue workers as they take a break, the visitors and tourists who come to stare and take photographs, the evangelicals, the street vendors, the police officers and those who were left behind. As you travel through the 24 hours, it becomes clear that the situation itself resists summary.

LegaciesSept 11th was a day without parallel. For an older generation that fought and lived through the two world wars, riots, terrorist attacks, the holocaust, the carnage and destruction on the 20th century, it brought back memories. It reminded them not just of war but also the tenacity of the human spirit that enabled them to overcome all odds. Many of them realized that they had to pass on their history of survival and hope to their children and grandchildren. They chose unique and personal ways to tell their story. This is the story of Isadore Scott, Leon Lissek and Ruth LaFevre and their amazing legacies.

September 2

Einstein's BlunderWhen Albert Einstein told us about the relationship between mass,
energy, space and time, he assumed that the universe was static. Even
though his first equations showed that in fact the cosmos was moving
apart from some source, he thought that was a mistake: so he added a
fudge factor - what he called the cosmological constant, a way of
balancing the force of gravity. Later, he was to call the cosmological
constant the biggest mistake of his life. Astronomers started to prove,
almost before the ink dried on his equations, that galaxies were flying
apart, and the cosmos was in fact expanding from some point in space.
But now there's new evidence about that expansion rate - one that shows
that Einstein may have been right after all.

The Fate of the UniverseFor virtually all of human history, the study of cosmology
has been an exercise in either mythology or guesswork.
Remarkably, in large part due to advances in observing
capability provided by the space program, we are on the
verge of obtaining quantitative answers to some of the most
basic questions about the nature of the Universe: How old is
it now? Will it live forever? How did its basic structures
form? Recent work combining observations from the Hubble
Space Telescope and a number of ground-based telescopes
has substantially reduced the uncertainty in our measurement
of the rate of cosmic expansion, and hence in our estimate of
the Universe's age. These efforts also have placed looser
constraints on the two cosmological parameters governing whether the Universe will expand
forever, or will ultimately turn around and collapse. Now there is evidence that the rate of
the universe's expansion is actually growing. The cosmos is accelerating. Future observations
to pin down the acceleration of the universe along with figuring out what the cosmological
constant is, will help determine the ultimate fate of the universe.

August 2005

August 26

Shades of Grey: Shell vs. Nigeria's Ogoni PeopleIn Nigeria, the Ogoni people have been at war with the giant Anglo-Dutch petroleum company, Shell, for nearly a decade. It has been a bitter conflict between David and Goliath, a conflict full of recriminations, deceit and politics. Radio Netherlands producer Eric Beauchemin reports from both sides of the conflict. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Fishing in Troubled WatersScottish fishermen are facing an uncertain future as their market opens up to international fishing companies. Combined with falling world prices and rising fuel costs, these global factors threaten the viability of the industry. The British Broadcasting Corporation's Susie Emmett reports on how the small fishing port of Eyemouth adapts to the changes. This program is part of the international radio exchange Series, "Global Perspectives: Faces of Globalization."

August 19

Zoom Black Magic Liberation RadioMbanna Kantako's pirate radio station, broadcast from a corner of his living room, is heard in a two mile radius of the John Hay Homes housing project in Springfield, Illinois. 'Zoom Black Magic Radio' has attracted a relatively large audience with its mix of rap and reggae music, listener call-ins and political commentary. It has also attracted the attention of the FCC, the local legal system and the Springfield Police, all of whom have attempted to shut the station down.

Calling Mr. MarconiWhen Guglielmo Marconi installed a receiving station at St. Johns Newfoundland in November 1901 he probably never realized the full impact of his invention. Radio is now as remarkable as wallpaper. The people of St. Johns are determined to celebrate this most ubiquitous of mediums on the 100th anniversary of the transmission of the first signal across the Atlantic. Producer Chris Brookes from Battery Radio captures the town's enthusiasm as they move through the day.

August 12

Flight from KosovoThe war in Serbia and the subsequent displacement of Albanians has become a
savage epilogue to the 20th century. Tens of thousands fled their homes for
the refugee camps in neighboring countries. The camps, giant tent cities,
housed twenty to thirty thousand people in overcrowded conditions. Heat, starvation, long lines and fatigue epitomized the tragedy of their nation. As NATO troops entered Kosovo, Operation Safe Haven was launched as a humanitarian effort, to evacuate thousands of refugees from the war zone to safe havens until the situation stabilized. This is the story of 19-year old
Tony and his flight from the refugee camp to Australia. This program comes to us from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

A Refugee ReturnsA Refugee Returns examines the Vietnam War's bitter legacy for one divided family. For many Vietnamese the war remains an open wound. Though Vietnam is now unified, there is still a gulf between the North and the South. So too, many families remain divided by the decisions they made during the war. This is the story of one such family and Hung Le, a Toronto businessman, as he returns to Vietnam for the first time since his escape in 1979. This program comes to us from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

August 5

Get A Life CoachWhen Alan was told to get a life, he decided to go one better. He got a Life Coach. What exactly is a Life Coach, this new kind of ultimate personal trainer? As one coach describes it: "Coaching is not therapy. In therapy you talk about how to throw the ball. In coaching, you throw it." We'll join Alan as he works with his Life Coach-to improve his flirting skills-and meet other coaches and their satisfied clients. We'll even learn how to become a coach and sit in on a telephone training session. And producer Natalie Kestecher just might convince us, in this sly production from the Australian Broadcasting Company, that it's time to sack that shrink and get a Life Coach instead. This program is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Deeper and DeeperIt's a form of therapy experiencing a late 20th century revival. It's become pervasive, fashionable and
acceptable in countries around the world, from the United States, to Great Britain, to Australia. It's not
a drug and it's not a diagnosis. It's hypnotherapy, and it's gaining ground in mainstream culture as both
a therapy and a form of entertainment. What are some of the secrets, the methods and the attractions?
Join us and the hypnotists as they take you ... deeper and deeper.

July 2005

July 29

WannabesWhy would anybody want, even choose, to be disabled in order to feel whole and secure? In this fascinating and challenging report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, producer Kath Duncan, who herself was born without one arm and one leg, tries to understand why some people actually aspire to be like her. These "wannabes" are physically complete and able, but wish they weren't and will go to great lengths, even amputation, to achieve the body image they hold of themselves. Duncan brings us a moving portrait of her journey into a strange subculture. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Practicing Emptiness'Women sell themselves short doing things they hate in search of money or security or emotional
fulfillment,' says writer Carmen Delzell. For some this means staying in a bad marriage, to keep a roof
overhead or for the children's sake; for some it means prostitution. Delzell shares conversations with
women of diverse backgrounds -- a former prostitute, a woman who has suffered an abusive marriage,
an exotic dancer -- and reveals the threads that bind their experiences, and those of all women,
together.

July 22

Ode to JosephineJosephine Fernandez was Dheera Sujan's 20-something, bow-legged, horsey faced Goan ayah, or nanny. She was about five and her sister two years younger when Josie came into their lives. She stayed with them until they immigrated to Australia a few years later. When they left India for good to start a new life, it was Josie whom they missed more than anything else they'd left behind. This program comes to us from Radio Netherlands and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Von TrappedA dark tale about a woman obsessed with 'The Sound of Music' and the Von Trapp Family as well as other things Austrian. That is, until she realizes Austria's recent history is not just about apple strudel, singing nuns and happy blond children. The producer is Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This feature was awarded the bronze medal at the inaugural Chicago Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2001.

July 15

Funeral in Irian JayaWith SOUNDPRINT producer Moira Rankin and reporter Vicki Monks, we travel to one of the most inaccessible parts of Indonesia, the mountainous area of Irian Jaya, which shares a peninsula with Papua, New Guinea. Here in Irian, development is forcing some of the most rapid cultural, environmental and social changes occurring in any part of the world. As tribal peoples leave the Stone Age and leapfrog into the 20th century, tourist dollars turn tribal rituals into kitsch. To capitalize on vast natural resources, the government is building roads to connect the interior to the coastline. Thousands of immigrants from Indonesia's other islands are crowding in, hoping for a share of the new economic pie. And in the middle of the development, the government is experimenting with a revolutionary program to engage indigenous peoples in the preservation of their land.

MissionariesNot more than 25 years ago, they were the first outsiders to come to Irian Jaya. Outsiders who will never
become insiders, the missionaries of Irian Jaya introduced the twentieth century to the native peoples.
Although they came to educate, offer health care and save souls, ultimately, as this portrait by producer
Moira Rankin reveals, the greatest effect of their work is on their own personal development.

July 8

Through Glass Walls: The Three Lives of Howard ButenFifty-four-year-old Howard Buten has a very strange CV. Successful writer. Psychologist. Internationally recognized expert on autism. And award-winning clown. Ever since he was a little boy growing up in Detroit in the 1950's, Howard Buten has juggled his need to act, write stories, and help people with disabilities.
His 8 books have earned him the title of Chevalier and France's most prestigious arts award. He is the founder of a day center for profoundly autistic young adults in Paris. And as Buffo the white-faced clown, he performs his one-man-show on stages all over the world.
On a recent tour of Quebec, CBC producer David Gutnick hooked up with Buffo - and the other guys. Here's his documentary - "Through Glass Walls: The Three Lives of Howard Buten."
This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Islands of GeniusHow can a 20 year old man who is blind, autistic and still believes in Santa Claus play the most sophisticated improvisational
jazz piano? How can a child who appears withdrawn and retarded gaze at a building for only a minute then draw an exact
reproduction on paper? Producer Stephan Smith explores the mysterious powers of savants -- people with profound mental
disabilities who develop an island of genius in music, mathematics or art. Contemporary research on Savant Syndrome is
producing new insights on how the human brain works, and how personal intelligence can outwit the IQ test.

July 1

My Father's IslandIn the 1930s, five German brothers fled Nazi Germany and set sail for the Galapagos to live a Robinson Crusoe lifestyle. The Angermeyers were exotic and eccentric, and among the first permanent settlers. Through the memories of Joanna and other family members, Producer Ruth Evans of the BBC uncovers the family history and their links with the Galapagos. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

One Family in a Kansas TownIn 1990, Smith County, Kansas, where Lebanon is located, was a thriving region. By the late 1990s the population had dwindled to 4,500, having suffered a drop of 150% in 100 years. If this trend continued, Smith County and Lebanon would essentially disappear. When Jim Rightner and his wife, Christine, came to town, they planned to retire there, ready for small town life. During his first day in town, Jim decided to change things. Before long it became a perfect model of small town America. Lebanon proved to be a town willing, in part, to accept this man's dream if it meant surviving. As we learn more about his grand plan, we begin to learn more about what drives him, and what's really behind his dream to rebuild Lebanon, Kansas.

June 2005

June 24

The Goalkeepers of Sierra LeoneThe United Nations has labeled Sierra Leone the worst place on earth to live. The final peace accord in an 11-year civil war was signed two years ago. There is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, often traveling the country in rowboats and on foot, and an internationally funded Special Court has been built in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown. One of the hallmarks of the civil war there was the practice of amputating the limbs of your enemy. There is, in fact, now an entire soccer team in Freetown made up of amputees. Those who had a leg cut off play on the field; men who kept their legs but lost their arms play goal. The team has more in common than missing limbs; they are all intensely interested in the ongoing trials at the Special Court. They want to know what happens to the people ultimately responsible for their missing limbs. In Karin Wells' documentary “The Goalkeepers of Sierra Leone", part of the CBC's "Africa After the Wars" series, she travels to a town where thousands of people have been the victims of amputations. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries. It won a Gold Medal at the 2005 New York Festivals.

Across The Water: Journey to Robben IslandSouth African President Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison on Robben Island. Now the prison is closed and the island has become a museum, a fast growing tourist attraction in the new South Africa. Former political prisoners work alongside their former jailers as the new keepers of the island's history. It is perhaps one of the most tangible symbols of South Africa's miraculous transformation from apartheid to a multi-party democracy. But what about the personal transformations of those who continue to work on the island? Hear from some of the former prison wardens who continue to live and work there.

June 17

Writers on WarEvery war produces its own literature. The novels, memoirs, poetry and essays from the soldiers who fought are often the most poignant reflections on moments of personal tragedy or banality that make the reality of war only too real for those who stayed behind. Producer Neenah Ellis brings us the stories and memories of three writers: Eugene Sledge on battles in the South Pacific during World War II; Rolando Hinojosa on the fight to take Seoul in the Korean War; and James Webb on the landscape of the Vietnam War.

Fierce for Change: Meridel Le SueurA portrait of writer Meridel Le Sueur, whose works for over 60 years have been informed by her political history and beliefs, and colored by her connectedness to the midwestern land and environment.

June 10

A Complicated FriendshipCanadian producer Frank Faulk has an unusual - but long running - friendship with a fundamentalist preacher in Kentucky. They may disagree on just about everything, but their friendship is solid. This program comes to us from the CBC and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries. It won a Silver Medal at the 2005 New York Festivals.

Detroit DialogueLike many American cities, Detroit has survived cycles of decay and renewal. Producer Susan Davis invites you to lunch with a group of long-time friends and former neighbors--six local women, spanning two generations, three of them African-American, three of them Jewish. Listen as they share their memories of neighborhoods and a time when the city's racial divide could be conquered over a backyard fence or a kitchen table. They talk about what it means to build a real sense of community, and how easily it can be lost, as well as their hopes and dreams for the city's future.

June 3

Silver UmbrellaLosing, searching, not always wanting to find
what we thought we were looking for. Hemingway's
lost manuscripts, a father's lost childhood, lost
talent, lost opportunities and a mysterious
silver umbrella. Stories of loss and memory are
played out on the European rail system and
interwoven in this feature by Natalie Kestecher of
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Exits and EntrancesThe Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu has taken poetry and folk songs and arranged them for choir and orchestra. In themselves they chart a journey from birth to death. They are interwoven with recordings from Tokyo maternity wards and in funeral parlours: a moving exposition of the ways that the Japanese make their exits and entrances. This program was produced by Roger Fenby for the BBC World Service, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

May 2005

May 27

Summer CampProducer Sam Levene returns to the summer camp of his boyhood and takes us on a fascinating exploration of contrasts. We actually visit two camps: the camp he attended and remembers, filled with middle- class Jewish kids, and the one that exists now on the same wooded site, attended by less privileged, inner-city kids from many different cultures. The faces have changed, the fun is the same. And we also meet the adults that Levene’s bunk-mates have become, and the one who became the love of his life. This documentary from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, goes deeper than any ordinary, nostalgic look at days gone by. This program airs as part of the international radio documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

Rodeo LifeRodeo isn't just a sport, it's a way of life. From youngsters just starting out in junior competitions to seasoned veterans vying for national championships, rodeo cowboys are a dedicated group of athletes. They spend long hours traveling from rodeo to rodeo for the chance to risk injury and court glory atop bucking horses and bulls, or to see who's the fastest to rope a calf or wrestle a steer to the ground, all with no guarantee of a paycheck at days end. Producer Matt McCleskey talked to rodeo cowboys about their rough and tumble sport and prepared this documentary.

May 20

Lost in AmericaFour people living on the edge--drug addicts, a prostitute and a blind woman--recount their journeys to a new life, revealing the connections between home and homelessness along the way. Producer Helen Borten brings us "Lost in America." This program won an EMMA award from the National Women's Political Caucus for Best Radio Documentary.

The Bonus Army MarchIn 1932, in the depths of the Depression, thousands of hungry and disgruntled veterans of WW I marched on Washington, D.C. demanding that Congress pay them the bonus for their military service that had been promised years before. Banding together, unemployed Oregon cannery workers marched with Pennsylvania coal miners and Alabama cotton pickers, as more than 20 thousand "bonus marchers" participated in the biggest rally to date in the nation's capital. And they stayed for weeks, setting up tent cities, living in cardboard shanties, and shaking the nerves of President Hoover. Find out how they played a role in defeating Hoover in the fall election, and improving the government's treatment of veterans after WW II.

May 13

War and ForgivenessMemorial Day is a day of remembrance of wars won and lost. Often, we think of the battles and the victories. At times, we consider the inevitable war crimes: the massacres, rapes and other atrocities. Rarely do we consider the perspectives of those who are responsible as well as those who are injured. In a special hour long documentary, War and Forgiveness, we present two sides of the equation: the victims and the perpetrators of wartime atrocities. WNYC, RADIO NETHERLANDS, and SOUNDPRINT have collaborated on a two part program that looks at women in Korea who were commandeered to have sex with Japanese soldiers during World War II and Dutch soldiers who carried out a torture campaign in Indonesia. As different as their stories are, they reach the same conclusion: the need for a moral apology from the government.

May 6

Children and GodThe three major monotheistic religions operate from the assumption that: We have the truth, we have a privileged position, we are above others who do not believe as we do, and we are against others who do not believe as we do. This line of thinking creates strong communities of people with deep, abiding faith. But the dark side of these ideas can be seen in Srebrenica, the West Bank and the World Trade Center.
The religious person learns concepts like "God" and "My Religion" at the same time as concepts like "Green" and "Family." By preadolescence, these ideas have been planted quite deeply. This program takes a look at the results by following three 12-year olds - an Orthodox Jew, a Muslim and an Evangelical Christian -- as they pursue their religious education. We hear the songs they sing, the prayers they chant, the lessons they read and how their formal and informal training drives them to believe that, because of their religion, they have a special and exclusive relationship with God.

Relating to DadDoes Father know best? Some teenagers think Dads are dominating, disciplinarians who don't always have respect for the thoughts of their young minds. Dads dismiss the day-to-day obstacles of peer pressure, school, and for some teens, work. Producer Joe Gill talks with 17 year-old Cristin about "what a father is," or "what a father is supposed to be" or "why a father is important in a woman's life". Blending audio diaries and conversations, Relating to Dad takes a look at one teen's view about "the father of the imagination" who fills in for the absent, real father.

April 2005

April 29

Mixed BlessingsElsie Tu came to Hong Kong from Britain in the 1950s as a married missionary. She fell in love with one of her Chinese converts, controversially divorced her husband and married her Chinese love. She later became a very vocal activist in Hong Kong politics, and wrote a book about her relationship called "Shouting at the Mountain".
In Mixed Blessings, Producers Sarah Passmore and Clarence Yang from Radio Television Hong Kong compare Elsie's experiences with modern East/West relationships, and they take a look at why, in the 21st century, Asian men marrying Western women is still relatively rare. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

The Last Good SariA woman's life in modern India-- bound as it is by
traditional cultural and religious strictures-is
prescribed by her caste and her sex in ways most
Westerners might findhard to understand. From
girlhood through adolescence, marriage to widowhood,
an Indian woman is not supposed to ask questions about
her body, about her husband, or about society s
expectations of her. But this is slowly changing.
In this documentary, filmmaker T. Jayashree weaves her
own story of growing up in India while introducing us to
women in Southern India. These stories reveal the power
and strength of women helping each other break ancient
molds and celebrate their own identity.

April 22

The Sobbing CelebrantAustralian Broadcasting Corporation producer Natalie Kestecher thought it might be useful to have a few options up her sleeve if she ever decides to stop making radio documentary features. So she decided to become a Marriage Celebrant. Natalie enrolled in the first ever training course which, under new Australian legislation, all intending Celebrants must complete in order to be accredited.
Being a Celebrant is not just about saying the necessary words (which must always include 'I do') and ensuring the right forms are correctly filled in; it's also about devising meaningful ceremonies for a secular society. Theme weddings, butterfly releases, and quotes from 'The Prophet' are all popular. So what happens if you don't do themes, you hate 'The Prophet' and you think butterfly releases are yucky? Natalie spent a week coming to terms with the modern wedding. It turned out to be a week of introspection. 'The Sobbing Celebrant' offers an entertaining insight into the process that confers upon regular (or not so regular) citizens the right to officiate at the most significant moments in our lives. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

The Red Deere MuseumIn the summer of 1998, a museum in
central Alberta mounted an exhibit of
wedding dresses. The dresses had been
sewn over the course of a lifetime by
a woman who worked from her basement,
creating gowns for the brides of her
community. The exhibit was organized
by the seamstress's daughter, as a
tribute to her mother and to the
uncelebrated work of rural women.
But there was a lot going on behind
the scenes at this exhibit. The
daughter, an urban feminist with a
doctorate in sociology, was trying
to come to terms with what she saw
as her mother's sacrifices and
unfulfilled life. And the mother was
trying to understand the daughter's
anger and pain, and wrestling with
her own pain at her daughter's harsh
judgment. Producer Linda Shorten of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
shares a story of the
forces that have driven generations
of women apart, and how those women
have struggled to find their way back
to each other again. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

April 15

Life OutsideThe closure of the last great
institution for the intellectually
disabled in New Zealand has raised a
host of questions about the ongoing process
of deinstitutionalization. For decades,
citizens with intellectually disabled
children relied on these specialist facilities
to provide for their needs. These former 'havens',
have come to be seen as sites of neglect,
abuse, and dehumanizing rigidity.
They became dumping grounds
for a whole range of people who
fell through the gaps in social welfare.
Often isolated, the institutions were also seen as a metaphor for the way in which
society itself chose to deal with the issue.
Producer Matthew Leonard of Radio New Zealand shares the
story of the patients and families, whose lives have been affected. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Grace to a StrangerThey are the worst of the worse - men who sexually attack children. Their crime revolts everyone. In prison, they are often kept seperate from other inmates for their own protection. But what happens once they are released? Once their crime becomes known, they are the subject of threats, vandalism, and made into pariahs. But in Canada, a small group of Mennonites is trying to change that. Hundreds of ordinary Canadians are now reaching out to pedophiles - trying to reintegrate them into the community. The CBC's Elizabeth Gray has a profile of these neighbors. Her program is called Grace to A Stranger. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

April 8

Songs of the AutomobileSongs of the Automobile explores U.S. culture through the national love affair with the car. Travel from coast to coast to visit hot-rodder enthusiasts, auto show junkies, and everyone else in between on this musical journey of unfolding car tales and anecdotes. From stories of that first purchase, to dating in the backseat, to the beloved car full of nostalgia rusting in the driveway, BBC producers Judith Kampfner and Roger Fenby take you on this lyrical cross-country radio road trip. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Low Flying FishA spirited exploration of the culture of extreme motivation in America, from team- and vision- building in the corporate world ... to the multi- million dollar industry of self-improvement books and videos. Along the way, we'll meet Seattle's famous corporate-training fishmongers; hear from someone trying to figure out Who Moved Her Cheese; and be introduced to despair.com's lucrative mockery of the whole motivation business.

April 1

Cut and PastePlagiarism at universities and colleges is rife - 4 out of 10 students admit they copy material from the internet and try to pass it off as their own work. For some it's an easy way out at the last minute; for others it's driven by cut-throat competition to get into the best graduate or professional schools. To deal with the issue, colleges and universities are trying many different approaches, from changing their teaching methods to using online detection filters to promoting a culture of integrity on campus. Producer Jean Snedegar visits faculty and students at Duke, the University of Virginia, and other colleges to discover the underside of higher learning. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

RevengeIt seems we all love to hear revenge stories --
the petty ones and the grand -- even when they
are painful or the recipient is blameless. And we
seem to love to tell revenge stories about
ourselves -- even stories that make us look
childish or venal. Revenge visits the unspoken
dark place where revenge impulses lie through the
stories of people who have planned revenge and
those who have carried it out.

March 2005

March 25

Reconsidering the FiftiesProducer Alice Furlaud lived in New York City with her husband Max through the 1950s. Her memories - of Union Square, the Lower East Side, 17th Street, Irving Place, the Village - evoke a time when dinner parties had to have an equal number of men and women, when you could get a full course dinner for 75 cents, when the gap between rich and poor was not nearly as visible as now, when the city was much more accessible to poor, starving artists and writers. Winner of 2004 Gracie Award from The National Women in Radio and Television Foundation.

March 18

From Brooklyn to Banja LukaAn interesting cross cultural relationship that spans New York, Banja Luka and Amsterdam. Jonathan is a loud New Yorker, a Brooklyn Jew who has been living in Holland for 13 years. He has joint Dutch US nationality, speaks fluent Dutch, and yet remains essentially his boisterous loud American self. He is married to Dragana, a Serbian from Banja Luka, who came here in the midst of the Bosnian war and remains deeply affected by the war and its after effects in her country. They met at a party in Amsterdam ten years ago and have been together ever since. They now have a young trilingual son. The two have much in common - they're clever, loud, extravagant people from musical backgrounds. But she has a Slavic melancholia that contrasts with his wisecracking Jewish humour. In this program, they discuss their different cultures, how they feel being such big personalities living in a country that doesn't seem at first glance particularly suited to their ethnic backgrounds and character, and also the nature of their tempestuous relationship. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

Gay Ballroom DancingIan and his partner had no experience dancing in competition. Yet they decided to enter the ballroom event at the International Gay Games held in Australia. They kept an audio diary of their training in the Waltz, the Quick Step and the Tango. They also recorded how they learned to glide around the dance floor with confident smiles, even when shaking with nerves and, on one memorable occasion, with Ian's trousers falling down. Ian Poitier steps out onto the dance floor and takes us into the world of ballroom dancing. This program was produced by Louise Swan of the BBC and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

March 11

The Darker Side of RomanceHaving a boyfriend or a girlfriend is the dream of teenagers everywhere but, in Britain there’s a bleak side to the story. The UK has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe, and there’s been a steady rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections amongst young people. Although having sex is illegal under the age of 16, increasing numbers of young people are sexually active. Producer Esther Armah of the BBC visits a unique drop-in centre, that offers young people the chance to discuss sex and emotional problems, and gives them the means to protect themselves. We hear from teenagers in Britain today about the mixed messages they are getting and their concern that they are not getting enough sex education in schools. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

High School TimeFrom 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, a student, teacher, and principal let us in on their world of bells, tests, technology, and teen life.
We track what a day is like at Westfield High School in Virginia. With almost 3,000 students, it is one of the largest schools in the Washington, DC area. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

March 4

Burning EmbersIn these days of big sticks, harsh words and war-talk, who couldn't use a little romance, a little love. Isn't that, as the song goes, what the world needs now. Well, in that spirit, we bring you the story of Sherman Hickey and Marie O'Toole. Theirs is a tale of innocence and desire that began almost seventy years ago. It's also a tale of unrequited passion and enduring devotion that only recently found its happy ending. This program comes to us from Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

AttachmentsLove, the universal emotion. From the first crush, to the worst heartbreak, to a long-lasting marriage, people young and old share with us their stories of passion and pain. Producer Ginna Allison presents us with snapshots of love in "Attachments."

February 2005

February 25

Sunshine and DarknessXeroderma Pigmentosum is a genetic mutation with a number of implications. It can be life threatening. It diminishes the body's resistance to UV waves. People with XP can't tolerate sunlight. The older they get, the worse the problem becomes. People with XP have to be completely covered up before they go out, and even inside they live with curtains drawn. The disorder also creates a bubble around the person with XP, their family and friends. Often isolated, even in school, their connection to the world is tenuous.
Today, that isolation is breaking down. Producer Marti Covington reports on how schools, families and technology are helping people with this rare disorder (only 125 people in the United States have it) connect with the world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

My MonetsWriter David Stewart has a collection of valuable paintings by the impressionist painter Claude Monet. And he has a team of international curators taking care of them. That's because they're stored not in Stewart's private gallery, but in museums all over the world. Wherever he travels, he visits one of "his Monets", personal favorites that he makes a point of spending time with on each trip. That way, he comes to know them intimately, in his gallery of the mind. Stewart suffers with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that renders him increasingly blind. When he visits his Monets, he is remembering them rather than seeing them, and using other people's observations to keep his memories fresh. In pursuit of his passion, Stewart writes essays, journeys to some of his favorite museums, and explains how it feels to take visual ownership of a painting.

February 18

Teaching: The Next GenerationIn conversations about the use of technology in schools, what you'll often hear is: Once we have a cadre of young teachers and administrators who've grown up with technology, computer use in schools will take off. This program examines that premise by following a young teacher, Brian Mason (7th grade American History) as he begins his second year in the classroom. The program also explores Mr. Mason's approach to teaching by testing his theories about "what works" against the opinions of education experts. Producer Richard Paul brings us "Teaching: The Next Generation." This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Classroom Cool: Training Teachers in Using TechnologyFaced with the challenge of improving student performance, many schools turned to the widespread use of computers and the Internet. The trend has caught many veteran teachers unawares. Now they have to make use of the latest technology, while in their hearts they remain uncomfortable with the new wave. Though hard data is lacking on whether classroom high tech helps students learn, teachers feel the hot breath of urgency to adapt. Veteran teacher and producer Bill Drummond explores the rush to get America's teachers wired. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

February 11

The United States of DatingA producer's quest for real stories of how people meet each other in the current dating environment, and how they negotiate their dating
relationships. Along the way, we'll hear from matchmakers, relationship experts and common-or-garden daters. We'll explore how the written word still rules romance and dating etiquette -- from staccato text-message shorthand to classified ads, postcards and email. We'll meet the Dating Coach who advises clients on putting their best face forward; New York City's own cupid cab driver who tries his hand at amateur matchmaking in Manhattan gridlock; a political activist who runs a booming online dating
service for like-minded lefties (motto: "take action, get action"); and a woman who blogs her private dating activities in a public online diary...
with some surprising results. This program airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Romance Series.

A Big AffairProducer Deborah Nation of Radio New Zealand brings us a heartwarming romance between man (Tony Ratcliffe) and elephant (Jumbo). This is the backdrop for some reflections on the sometimes troubled relationships between men and women. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

February 4

Loida and Johanna go to Flin FlonWelcome to the small mining town of Flin Flon in Manitoba, Canada, founded in 1915 and swept by a wave of immigration a decade later with the arrival of the Canadian railway and miners from around the world. Eighty-five years later, the mine is mechanized. Wal-Mart has come to town. The wave of immigrants has been replaced by the arrival of the occasional foreigner. Now Flin Flon's immigrants are people the town desperately needs: doctors from South Africa, an accountant from Pakistan. This is the story of Loida and Johanna, two young Filipino nurses who come to Flin Flon. This program was produced by Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Looking for Home.

After Sorrow"After war, the people you meet differ so from former times," wrote the Vietnamese poet Nguyen Trai in the early 15th century. Americans are still searching for answers to the Vietnam conflict, and the conflict that lives on in the collective mind and soul of this country. American writer Lady Borton is one of the few who has explored the North Vietnamese point of view in trying to reach an understanding of what happened and why. Borton was the first American journalist given permission by Vietnamese officials to speak with ordinary villagers and to live with a village family. During her time there, she met Vietnamese peasant women who played crucial and heretofore unrecognized roles in the Vietnamese victory; women who, like American veterans, "did what they had to do."

January 2005

January 28

Vietnam BluesVince Gabriel is a Maine-based blues musician who's written an album of songs chronicling his experience in the Vietnam War. In this program, Vince takes listeners chronologically through his time in Vietnam, with his music leading us into stories about getting drafted, arriving in the jungle, what combat was like, the loss of his closest friend, the relief of finally returning home, and his reflections on the legacy of Vietnam today. Vince's stories give listeners an almost visceral sense of what it's like for those on the front lines. Though it is an account of a war that took place years ago, Vince's observations feel disturbingly immediate and poignant. Producer Christina Antolini brings us the "Vietnam Blues."

Going Home to the BluesPeople say going down south is like
going home. Take a trip to the
Mississippi Delta to find the true
meaning of the Blues.
Everyone has hard times throughout
their lives, but does that classify as
the Blues? Producers Askia Muhammed and
Debra Morris search for an answer while
going home.

January 21

The Evolution BoomerangAs humans continue to make their imprint on Earth, they find they are making a noticeable difference in the evolution of different species. The Evolution Boomerang looks at the effect humans are having on insects, fish and certain kinds of bacterium, and how that evolution is in turn affecting humans.

London: The Superbug Capital of the World?Newspaper headlines have dubbed London "the superbug capital of the world" because of the number of deadly infections, such as MRSA, in the city's hospitals. But across Britain there has been an alarming rise in infections caused by bugs resistant to antibiotics and poor standards of cleanliness have been identified as a major cause. Many people are genuinely scared at the prospect of hospital treatment and the National Health Service is taking steps to improve hospital hygiene, including setting up the post of Ward Housekeeper. In this program, we meet patients and staff in the Lane Fox Respiratory Unit at St. Thomas' Hospital on the banks of the River Thames. Here an infection control initiative has been launched that's a model for the rest of Britain. We spend a day on Lane Fox ward, following Ward Housekeeper Charles Bell and Ward Sister Hazel Chisholm, as they work, often against the odds, to ensure that a stay in hospital does not leave their patients in a worse state than when they arrived. This program was produced by Gillian Gray of the BBC and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

January 14

The Intriguing ThereminPeople fainted when the Theremin was first performed onstage in Paris in 1928. Its haunting sound resembled voices from beyond the grave. It was the first electronic instrument, and at that time, the only one which is played without actually touching it. Its ingenious maker, the charismatic Russian Leon Theremin, was in many ways as mysterious as his invention. Producer Michele Ernsting from Radio Netherlands brings us The Intriguing Theremin. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Violet FlameProducer Brenda Hutchinson's sister has been a
member of the Church Universal and Triumphant in
Corwin Springs, Montana for several years. As a
result, Brenda became interested in finding out more
about the church, and has spent time there
talking with the people and discovering how the church
involves her sister. This religious community includes families and single people from all walks of life. Sound
plays an important role in the Church from
chanting and singing to teachings and services.
The Violet Flame is a portrait of this group and an
exploration of the issue of faith.

January 7

Korle-Bu HospitalIn the Children's Block of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana's capital, Accra, the dedicated staff struggle to do their best for their young patients. It's a tough and stressful job. They face a lack of equipment, staff shortages, and patients who are often unable to pay for medical care. Ghana's current health system requires that all medical bills must be paid before the patient leaves the hospital; hospitals actually employ security guards to make sure no one leaves without paying their bills. But now the Ghanaian government is introducing a health insurance scheme, to make health care more affordable for all the country's citizens. Joy FM's Akwasi Sarpong speaks with Korle-Bu's staff and patients about the challenges facing them and the future prospects for change. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Sick at HeartThe Netherlands is statistically the sickest country in Europe. One in 6 people of working age are on a disability pension, and most of them are younger than their counterparts around the world. In recent years, more and more young highly educated women have been going onto long term disability leave for various kinds of stress related disorders. Radio Netherlands Producer Dheera Sujan looks at a disability system that is unique in the world. A system which allows its beneficiaries to earn a salary as well as receive sick benefits, a system which rates illness on a percentage basis, and a system which until fairly recently no politician was allowed to overhaul although its financial drain to the economy was almost too much to bear. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

December 2004

December 31

Knitting with Dog HairAn entertaining and informative look at knitting with dog hair, from its alleged origins in Catalonia to contemporary practice in Australia. This program will encourage listeners to look at their four legged friends in a new and creative light. Knitting with Dog Hair was produced by Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and airs as part of our international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

This program is a parody, listen to it before you complain

Young People Against Heavy Metal T-shirts (YPAHMTS) is a grass roots organization determined to fight the perception of young people's moral decline as epitomized by Heavy Metal T-shirts...Or is it? In 1992, Matthew Thompson decided it was time to fight back. He aimed to give the media a different image of youth, one that was disciplined, ordered and strong. From a single letter to a tabloid newsletter, YPAHMTS was born. However, when YPAHMPTS developed into a media juggernaut that threatened to run him over, Matthew discovered how difficult it could be to argue a sophisticated message in an era of sound bites.

December 24

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?Practice, practice, practice - and that
is what millions of people across the
country have done for generations.
Piano lessons led to recitals, with
dreams of glory dancing in their heads
- or at the least their doting parents
and relatives. What happened after all
of those hours of agonizing scale runs
and finger exercises? Did it all go for
naught - to be wasted away in parlor
entertainment with endless renditions
of Heart and Soul? Composer Brenda Hutchinson set out across the U.S. to find out - with a U-Haul truck, a piano and a microphone.

The Spanish RoomThis is not a Big Important Story. It's a small whimsical story about
finding the unexpected in your own backyard - in this case the existence of
a Spanish dance company pulling standing-room-only crowds in a place
more often known for its Celtic music and dance traditions. Producer
Chris Brookes presents a portrait of El Viento Flamenco, Newfoundland's
only professional flamenco troupe.

December 17

The TravelerThe monarch butterfly is the greatest marathon runner of the insect world. Each year in May hundreds of millions of them take off from their winter quarters in Morelia, Mexico to begin a perilously delicate 3000 mile journey north. With luck, three months later by the human calendar but three generations later in butterfly time, the Monarchs reach northern United States and southern Canada. In late summer their journey begins again, and they arrive back in their winter roosts around the time of the Mexican Day of the Dead in late November. And while the monarch butterfly is beautiful, it is also mysterious. We don't know how the monarchs know where to go. We have no idea how they navigate the annual route along identical flight paths, right down to nesting on the same trees in the same fields year after year. And we don't know how they pass on the knowledge of those routes to the future generations that make the return trip. Producer Chris Brookes takes us on an in-depth journey with the monarch butterfly, and looks at three factors that may be threatening its existence.

Residence ElsewhereSettling down. It's a term that's associated with maturity, with being well-adjusted. The converse-- a person drifting from place to place-- is usually regarded with some suspicion and wariness. If, in the act of settling down, we join mainstream society, then the documentary, "Residence Elsewhere," is about someone living on the margins. His name is Doug Alan and he's a musician. His chosen life- style is that of urban nomad. Alan moves from city to city in a self-crafted mobile home--a life on wheels. He is in Chicago at the moment, making improvements to his rolling home. His story is layered with a chorus of three other Chicago nomads in varying stages of arrival and departure. All of them are trying to define the meaning of "home," when you're constantly on the move.

December 10

The Orphan Train"The Orphan Train" is an unnarrated documentary about one of the least known and yet most significant social experiments in American history. In September 1854, the first "orphan train" carried 46 homeless children from New York City to far off homes to become laborers in the pioneer West. It was the first step in what was to become the emigration of as many as 250,000 orphan children to new homes throughout the entire United States. Some children found kind homes and families, others were overworked and abused. Widely duplicated throughout its 75 year history, the original orphan train was the creation and life project of the now forgotten man who was to become the father of American child welfare policy. This documentary features interviews with surviving orphan train riders, as well as readings from historical newspapers, letters and journals, and is laced with classical and folk music.

Dream DeferredEach year 5,000 refugee children arrive in the U.S. penniless and alone, seeking asylum and freedom. A third are locked up - some alongside violent offenders. Many are deported back to traumatic home situations. The U.S. government does not provide them with lawyers, yet whether they can stay legally is decided in court. Dream Deferred follows two of these children, Juan Pablo from Honduras and Jimmy from Punjab, India. Why did they leave? What dreams are they chasing? How did they get here and where are they today?

December 3

Trapped on the Wrong Side of HistoryIn 1939, California farm girl Mary Kimoto Tomita traveled to Japan to learn Japanese and connect with the culture of her ancestors. She boarded a ship two years later to come back home to America. Two days into the voyage, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The ship turned around and Mary was trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. Mary's story -- told through interviews and letters from the time -- is a rare glimpse at a piece of the World War II experience.

Face to FaceWhat does it mean to be an American with the face of the enemy? Face to Face connects the experiences of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with those of Arab and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.Visit the Face to Face website

November 2004

November 26

Money in the FamilyPeter and Lauren Roberts have three children and a dog. They are all intelligent, animated, thoughtful, and unafraid to disagree with each other. As Canadians who have lived in Africa and in the United States, they are in the unique position of being outside observers of the American scene as well as participants in it. For financial reasons, they have decided to move back to Canada this year. We'll follow them through the Spring in America as they prepare to leave, documenting how they face particular financial burdens and decisions -- paying for music lessons for one of the kids, throwing a birthday party for another, deciding on schools, finding tuition fees, getting glasses for their daughter, selling their house. They have a lot to say about how they've been spending money and about how Americans spend money in general.

The Marathon StoryAndy Clark is a 31- year-old guy, a father and a journalist, who
considers himself moderately sane. But in the course of training for his
first marathon race, he begins to question his sanity -- as well as his
muscles, lungs and joints. Running for exercise was a joy compared to
this. Training for a marathon is tough, grueling and painful. So why do
people do it? Why in the world is Andy doing it? Find out as we
accompany marathon man Andy Clark from the start of his four month
training to the finish line at the Rotterdam marathon.

November 19

The World at Your FingertipsHelen Keller said that blindness separates a person from objects, and deafness separates that person from people. Without support, encouragement and education, the world of a deaf-blind person can be an isolated one of darkness and silence. In the documentary "The World at Your Fingertips" produced by Anna Yeadell of Radio Netherlands, we visit India where more than half a million people are deaf-blind. But with the help of Sense International and the Helen Keller Institute in Mumbai, many deaf-blind children and young adults are reaching out to the world around them, widening their horizons, and fulfilling their potential. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

A View From the BridgeThecla Mitchell is a triple amputee. For her, running in a marathon means finding complete physical existence within one wrist, one elbow and one set of fingers. Henry Butler is a blind jazz pianist, but through photography, Henry has found a meeting ground for the sighted and the sightless. Producer John Hockenberry, who is himself mobile in a wheelchair, has been a war correspondent, reporting from the field. He and associate producer Joe Richman show us what the disabled learn from living in a fundamentally different way -- where daily adventure is a part of life.

November 12

After Graduation: Meeting Special NeedsMany learning disabled students are finding that they learn more readily with a variety of technology assistance and human support in their classrooms. But what happens once they leave school? Whether moving into the workforce, or on to higher education, most high school graduates discover they must adjust to new environments on their own and learn to advocate for themselves. Alyne Ellis takes a look at how some schools and universities are trying to ease the transition of learning disabled students to a life after graduation. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Snacktime, Naptime, Computer TimeComputers in classrooms are a given in elementary
schools across the nation. Now new technology
initiatives are bringing computers into
preschools, driven by the assumption that if
children don't begin early, they fall behind.
But is this really true? And are computers
essential learning tools for very young minds?
How do very young children learn, how do their
brains develop, and does pointing, clicking and
hyperlinking affect their neurological and social
development? Early childhood education
specialists weigh in on a government funded
statewide program that aims to make toddlers
computer literate. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

November 5

Who needs libraries?As more and more information is available on-line, as Amazon rolls out new software that allows anyone to find any passage in any book, an important question becomes: Who needs libraries anymore? Why does anyone need four walls filled with paper between covers? Surprisingly, they still do and in this program Producer Richard Paul explores why; looking at how university libraries, school libraries and public libraries have adapted to the new information world. This program airs as part of our ongoing series on education and technology, and is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education.

Life before the ComputerRemember the first television set your family got? Or the first transistor radio that was really all your own? Our relationship with technology is oddly intimate, worming its way into even our most evocative memories. Producer Ilene Segalove talks to people with humorous memories of the "latest technologies" of their childhoods, now faded into obscurity in the computer age.

October 2004

October 29

Surviving ExtinctionAcross the United States, ecologists are battling to save endangered species from extinction. Scientists are now joining in the effort with sophisticated models that can be used to predict, and eventually prevent extinction. In this program, we travel to the Florida Everglades to see how the tiny Cape Sable Sparrow is faring despite an over-flooded environment, and to New England to find out how field mice are adapting after their habitat was destroyed. We discover what role scientific models play in the future of these species.

The Goldilocks StoryMars, Earth and Venus are sibling planets with huge similarities and even bigger differences. Starting from the same primordial material , the climates of each planet diverged, until you have the Goldilocks scenario --one that is too hot, another that's too cold and Earth which is just right. Our program will look at what processes affect the evolution of planetary atmospheres, and what Mars and Venus can tell us about the future of our own climate.

October 22

Three Women of East TimorOn May 20, 2002, East Timor finally got what it had struggled for.
The road to independence was long and difficult; a journey that was reflected in the fortunes of its national radio station. From colonization to independence - each wave of occupation brought a new language for broadcast.
When Filomena Soares was growing up on the outskirts of the capital Dili, fifty years ago, her country was still a Portuguese colony and she remembers dancing on the veranda to the folk songs on the Portuguese Radio, and dreaming of working in radio one day herself. When she finally did, it wasn't a dream come true. By then the Indonesians had taken over and replaced the Portugese Radio with Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI),and when they asked her to join the station, she had to obey.
Meanwhile, in the mountains, another Timorese woman, Carmen da Cruz, was working for Radio Falintil, the voice of the resistance.
It was after the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991 -- that placed enormous international pressure on the Indonesian government and forced them, eight years later, into accepting a referendum -- that the fate of Carmen and Lourdes became intertwined, and a third woman, Maria, joined in.
Listen to their stories and hear how they put the jigsaw of East Timor's history together.
The Three Women of East Timor was produced by Radio New Zealand and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

In India Saathin Means FriendIndian filmmaker T. Jayashree presents the impact of cultural and social traditions on the lives and destinies of Indian women. She begins with the story of Bhanwari, who was gang-raped by five men in her village when she tried to stop a child marriage. Bhanwari's case and other stories illustrate the tensions in a society resistant to change in its centuries-old traditions and customs.

October 15

Hana's SuitcaseAt the Children's Holocaust Education Center in
Tokyo, children - flocks of them - come to see a
suitcase, sitting in a glass case. The owner of
the suitcase was Hana Brady. She died in
Auschwitz in 1944 at age 13. The museum acquired
the suitcase a few years ago and since then the
director, Fumiko Ishioka, has made it her mission
to find out more about Hana. Her search leads to
George Brady, Hana's older brother. This program comes to us from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

The ColonyThe Colony began as a hostel in Jerusalem in 1902
during the Ottoman empire. Later on it became a
hotel on the advice of Baron Von Ustinov. The
history of the colony is inextricably linked to
the history of the city itself. It was here in
room 16 that the secret talks leading to Oslo
accords were held. Over the years the hotel
became a place where Christians, Jews and Arabs
could sit together in peace, away from the
tensions of the violent city. Producer Mandy Cunningham of the BBC presents The Colony, as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

October 8

Gore's Great Art CoupThe small rural town of Gore on New Zealand's South Island, recently managed to secure the art collection of the renowned sexologist and academic John Money. John Money gained international recognition for his ground-breaking work at Johns Hopkins University and for his early championing of the New Zealand 20th century author, the late Janet Frame. This program, from Radio New Zealand, tells the story of how the director of a tiny regional art gallery managed to convince a town, known mainly for its sheep and gold mining past, to accept a renowned art collection and have it relocated from Money's flat in a rundown area of Baltimore. Gore's Great Art Coup airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Throne of St.JamesIn a Washington, D.C. garage, James Hampton, a non- descript janitor by trade, started work on the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly. Built entirely out of discarded objects, this 180 piece sculpture was discovered after James' death in 1964. Considered by some to be one of the finest examples of American visionary religious art, the Throne resides at the Smithsonian. This is the story of The Throne of St. James. This program comes to us from Radio New Zealand and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

October 1

SanctuaryOur series Global Perspectives: Nature in the Balance continues with a visit to Australia. In one small corner of Australia, just off one of the country's busiest expressways, the Cohen family is cultivating 80 acres of natural bush land, with the aim of reintroducing vulnerable native animals. Australian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Nick Franklin explores the legacy of Australia's early acclimatizers, the reality of modern 'nature' as opposed to romantic notions of 'wilderness,' and one family's expensive experiment in nature conservation.

There's No Word for RobinIn Canada, the warning signs that global warming may be having a long-term effect on the climate are subtle. In the far north of Canada, where the land is defined by ice, ice is slowly melting - and for the first time, people who live in Northern Canada are seeing plants and animals much more familiar to those of us in the South. Producer Bob Carty of the CBC travels north to see how people are adapting to the changes. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspectives: Nature in the Balance.

September 2004

September 24

Living History in Colonial WilliamsburgStep back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, following a woman whose job it is to play an 18th slave character in Colonial Williamsburg; a woman who must learn, in 2004, to interpret and recreate 1770 slave culture for a tourist audience. The story is told through this character's own narration and reflection, her interaction with other historical characters and with the tourist public in Williamsburg, and through documentation of her daily tasks. As she steps in and out of character, we discover what it's like to step in and out of history: re-enacting the mundanities and tensions of 18th century life in the fields and kitchens during the day and negotiating a modern 21st century life after visiting hours.

Making a Home for RefugeesIn 'Making a Home for Refugees' BBC producer Esther Armah
reports from Hull in the north east of England.
Traditionally Hull has had only a very small
ethnic community numbering some 300 Chinese, so
there was considerable suspicion when the local
council agreed to accept around 250 Iraqi Kurds,
under the British government's dispersal
programme. In fact between 1,500 and 3,000
arrived in the city, as a result of a deal done
by private landlords. Initially there were
incidents of violence and racial abuse, even
today there are occasional attacks. But as
Esther discovered, despite lingering prejudice,
there is a growing acceptance of these refugees
and asylum-seekers. This program airs as part of the special international collaboration series Global Perspectives: Looking for Home.

September 17

The Music HouseMusic is the life-blood of the Baka Pygmies, the rainforest people of the Cameroon. They use music to enchant the animals of the forest before the hunt, to cure illnesses and to overcome disputes. Everyone sings and plays and there is no sense of performer and audience. The Euro-African band 'Baka Beyond' have been making music inspired by their visits to the Baka for over ten years. On this visit, at the request of the Baka, the band are taking an English timber-frame specialist to build a music house for them, paid for
with royalties from Baka Beyond's recordings. In this program, Producer Eka Morgan travels to the forest to meet the Baka and members of the band while they build the music house.

MissionariesNot more than 25 years ago, they were the first outsiders to come to Irian Jaya. Outsiders who will never
become insiders, the missionaries of Irian Jaya introduced the twentieth century to the native peoples.
Although they came to educate, offer health care and save souls, ultimately, as this portrait by producer
Moira Rankin reveals, the greatest effect of their work is on their own personal development.

September 10

We Were on DutyOne Hundred Eighty Four people died at the Pentagon while hundreds more crawled through choking smoke and over burning wreckage to safety. Hear the stories of the valiance and tenaciousness of the Pentagon employees; about the horrendous physical and psychological toll the attack has taken on them and their families -- and about how they have overcome and are moving on. This hour-long program tells these stories in the voices of the people who lived them. Without narration. Many of these survivor stories are devastating. Many are inspirational. From career officers to accountants, computer technicians to security personnel, We Were on Duty paints a sobering, yet inspiring portrait of people whose lives were forever changed.

IntersexA group of women talk of their experiences with a rare condition - intersexuality. They are women who have the male XY chromosome. One was forcibly raised as a boy. One only found out about her condition accidentally when she was a teenager. And one was kept in the dark about it deliberately by doctors. About one baby in 20,000 infants is born intersex. Often these infants can be clearly seen to belong to one sex, but a small percentage of them are born with ambiguous genitalia and in the past, doctors made a unilateral decision about which sex they thought the child belonged to. Sometimes they even performed surgery without properly consulting or informing the parents. That practice has been banned in the Netherlands but although medical personnel and lay people are more open to variations in sexuality these days, people with an intersex condition still find the subject very difficult to bring up. This program was produced by Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands and airs as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Whom they Fear they HateHate crimes are a persistent problem in America, even in seemingly quiet, politically tolerant communities. Producers Stephen Smith and Dan Olson focus on two such communities, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Portland, Oregon, each of which face disturbing levels of assault, vandalism, harassment and even murder committed on the basis of the victim's race, religion, sexual preference, or gender. The program examines why a country that is becoming more culturally diverse may be growing less tolerant.

August 2004

August 27

Ana Grows Up"Ana" is Anastasia Bendus, a 13 year-old girl who lives in Ottawa. She uses a wheelchair and has done so all her life She was born when her mother, Pat Erb, was in her 6th month of pregnancy. She weighed just over a kilogram, 2lb 4oz, and could fit in her father's hand. What happens to such a tiny baby? Will she grow up like any other kid? What are the challenges that face the family? Ana went through years of surgery, doctors visits and all sorts of physio and occupational therapy.
Now, l0 years later, Ana Grows Up picks up the story as Ana, her mother, two of Ana's friends and their mother go camping in Fitzroy Harbor Provincial Park. This was their summer vacation and producer Karin Wells of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation went with them. This program is part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Eric and MilenaWe often hear amazing stories of people risking or sacrificing themselves for loved ones. Perhaps you've often wondered what you would do in a similar situation. Radio Netherlands producer Dheera Sujan meets a remarkable couple. One a young American man, who met the woman of his dreams, a Dutch student. Shortly after they married, Eric contracted a form of Multiple Sclerosis that left him debilitated, paralyzed from the neck down. Told in first person, Eric and Milena is an incredible love story. This program is part of the international exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

August 20

The Long Distance PatientIn the high tech world of NASA and the military,
the concept
of remote medical
consultations from the isolation of an orbiting
space craft or a ship on
international patrol has been accepted
and well-known for some
time. But telemedicine also plays an
increasingly important
role in the lives of ordinary people. This
program explores the
increasingly common use of video links and
telemetry to treat
patients in isolated or difficult locations, where
ordinary consultations
with specialists would require long
expensive journeys to
far away cities. From the original Flying
Doctors in Australia to
the treatment of inmates in high security
jails, telemedicine has
dramatically changed the way many of us
interact with our
physicians.

Life SupportDying is no longer something that simply happens. More often, it's something someone decides to let happen. Patients and their families and doctors are forced to answer questions they didn't even consider before. Is being kept alive the same as living? When have we crossed the line from prolonging life, to extending death? We follow a woman struggling with these questions and her father's life.

August 13

Kiribati in CrisisAs global warming creates rising sea
levels, no one is perhaps more
vulnerable than people who live on
small islands. Expecting to find a
country battling to keep the sea back,
Radio New Zealand's environmental
reporter, Bryan Crump, traveled to the
atoll nation of Kiribati, which
straddles the equator in the middle of
the Pacific. This thirty-three island
nation lies no more than thirteen feet
above sea level. But Crump found a
nation already in an environmental
crisis of a different sort: overcrowded,
polluted, running out of water,
affected by coastal erosion and
disease. And while much of that is the
result of outside influences, Kiribati
is failing to find solutions.

Schokland - The Island on Dry LandIn the middle of Dutch wheat fields, miles away from the sea rises the little island of Schokland. In the never-ending tug of war with the sea, the Dutch rescued the island from the sea by building one of their famous polder dikes. The island soon bustled as a farming community and a tourist spot. Now the island is sinking, and Radio Netherlands producer Michele Ernsting reports that in a dramatic reversal of their old policy, the Dutch have decided to flood the land around it - to keep Schokland afloat. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspective: Nature in the Balance.

August 6

One Potato MoreThe Tasmanian potato farmers in Australia now
sell their produce to McDonalds. Once they made
a decent living selling to open air markets in
Sydney. Now they barely get by. Australian
Broadcasting Corporation's Roz Bluett reports how
one man is trying to change that. This program is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspectives: Faces of Globalization.

Cafe CultureGone are the days of the simple cup of coffee. Now, you can choose -- lattes, cappuccino or macchiato while filling up at the local coffee bar. But any way you drink it, all coffee started out the same way -- as a bean. Producer Judith Kampfner journeys with the sacred substance from a plantation in Costa Rica to your local Starbucks.

July 2004

July 30

For the Glory of the GameProducer Sam Levene of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents this documentary about a league of base ball
(that's 2 words) enthusiasts who play the game the
way it was first devised in the mid 19th century.
Across the U.S. and Canada, teams regularly meet in period
costume, and without gloves to play a polite, very
gentlemanly (and womanly) version of the game
that's become America's favorite sport. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Spinning the TourThe Tour de France is the ultimate event in cycling - and a metaphor for all the crisis and controversy that surrounds a big-time sport. In this documentary Producer Ian Austen of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, an amateur cyclist himself, delves into the race to expose the drug scandals, superhuman physical effort, sleazy sponsorships and yet somehow the thrill of the race. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

July 23

Mississippi Becomes a DemocracyMississippi Becomes a Democracy, produced by Askia Muhammad, tells the story of the 1960's voter registration drive in Mississippi that culminated in Freedom Summer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's move to unseat the regular delegation to the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City in 1964.

Provocative, fascinating and fast-moving - the hour long documentary is a reminder that the fight for civil rights was tumultuous and complex, with ramifications still felt today. Mississippi Becomes a Democracy transports listeners back to the sixties in Mississippi and then brings them to Mississippi today. The documentary brings the story to life through a combination of archive tape and recent interviews with legendary civil rights activists. Interviews with some of the major organizers, including Bob Moses and Fannie Lou Hamer, show how the events of that year set the stage for sweeping reforms. Interviews with today's generation of black politicians in Mississippi show the fruit of those struggles and what remains to be accomplished.

July 16

MoonlandingIt's been 35 years since the Apollo 11 moonlanding, and the lingering effect of that journey on the collective American psyche is remarkable. Anyone over 40 can tell you what they were doing on the warm July day when the flickering images of footsteps and moondust filtered down into living rooms around the nation. SOUNDPRINT presents some personal memories of the moonlanding, and snapshots from that historic day.

Washington Goes to the Moon: Against the TideThirty and forty years removed now from the debate over Apollo, we look back to a time when
American public support of the space program was uncertain. Skeptics came at their opposition from
varying perspectives. This program looks and talks (with and about) the opponents of the space program,
those who chose to swim against the pro-Apollo tide.

July 9

Voices of the Dust BowlMany of the Oakies and Arkies who poured into California at
the height of the Dust Bowl ended up in migrant camps set up
by the federal government. Using Library of Congress recorded
interviews with the 1935-40 farm worker emigrants, our
program tells their stories - about why they left, conditions
along the way, life in the camps, and what life was like for a
rural farmer back home.

Forecasters of FarmingHow do farmers, futures traders, scientists and policy makers forecast production? What have they relied on in the past, and how are the new tools, including satellite technology, creating better models? How is the science of prediction evolving? Forecasters of Farming looks at the history, art and science of predicting agricultural production using space technology and climate modeling.

July 2

Will The Banana Split?Producer Bob Carty of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation takes us on a lively and hilarious, but informative examination of the banana. Its history (it could soon be extinct), its biology(it is sexless), its myths (you CAN keep bananas in the refrigerator), and its impact on popular culture, everything from Chiquita Banana, and Monty Python to The Simpsons. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Let's Call the Whole Thing OffHow do you buy tomatoes in a grocery store? Do you choose by taste, or price, or shape, or
because the recipe you inherited from your grandmother calls for Roma and no other? No
matter the reason, Americans are probably the largest consumers of tomatoes in the world. On
average, they consume 16 pounds a year of fresh tomatoes.
Most of these fresh tomatoes are grown in Florida and California. But a significant percent of the market
now comes from Canada, thanks to free trade agreements struck in 1994.
This intrusion
has led to a good old fashioned trade war. In October of 2001 the U.S slapped heavy
antidumping tariffs on Canadian tomatoes. The Canadians have answered with their own
charges. Growers on both sides claim grievous injury. The greenhouse growers in Canada, who ship
50% of their production to the U.S., claim American protectionism is keeping the better tasting
tomatoes off the shelf. In the U.S, the fresh tomato growers, both field and
greenhouse, say that local markets are being undermined. And furthermore, local buyers now
must make a Hobson' choice, between their own homegrown tomato and a nefarious import.
Producer Chris Brookes explores the tomato war on both sides of the border. This program aired as part of the international radio exchange series, Global Perspectives: Faces of Globalization.

June 2004

June 25

Software Is ElementaryThere's an unusual phenomenon popping up in schools across the country-- educational software is almost never used in a classroom beyond the 8th grade. From pre-school to 8th grade, there is widespread use of specially-designed software to teach math, reading, grammar, and languages, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any of it in high school. Producer Richard Paul talks to professors, teachers, psychologists and software developers on his quest to find out why educational software disappears after middle school. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

The High Stakes of Today's TestingStandardized tests have been around for years in the United States. What's different now is that schools and teachers are being held accountable for the results of these tests. Add to that new federal legislation, and the stakes are raised even higher, with threats of federal funding being cut off to underachieving school districts. Then there is the question of how and what the children are being tested on. Producer Katie Gott follows the paths of two failing schools, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, to understand how each state applies its testing policy, and how testing impacts schools, teachers, parents and children. What happens if these schools don't make the grade after the scores are in? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

June 18

A Bird in the HandAvian Flu has hit many Asian countries, but Hong Kong, where the disease first spread to humans, has not been affected. Still, there are increasing calls to end the sale of live chickens which are chosen and killed at markets and shops across the city. Should Hong Kong stop the sale of freshly slaughtered chicken? Scientists agree this simple public health measure would reduce the risk of a worldwide pandemic which has killed tens of millions. But what if that measure goes against habit, culture and tradition; and what if no one can calculate the risk? How much is a bird in the hand really worth? Producers Hugh Chiverton and Sophia Yow of Radio Television Hong Kong present A Bird in the Hand as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

ChickensProducer Adi Gevins presents both a lighthearted and serious examination of chickens and their
relationship to humans in historical, cultural, economic and institutional contexts.

June 11

Korle-Bu HospitalIn the Children's Block of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana's capital, Accra, the dedicated staff struggle to do their best for their young patients. It's a tough and stressful job. They face a lack of equipment, staff shortages, and patients who are often unable to pay for medical care. Ghana's current health system requires that all medical bills must be paid before the patient leaves the hospital; hospitals actually employ security guards to make sure no one leaves without paying their bills. But now the Ghanaian government is introducing a health insurance scheme, to make health care more affordable for all the country's citizens. Joy FM's Akwasi Sarpong speaks with Korle-Bu's staff and patients about the challenges facing them and the future prospects for change. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Soweto: In Hector's PathJune 16, 1976 - Hector Petersen, a 13-year old South African student is shot and killed during a massive demonstration to protest apartheid laws in South Africa. The photograph of the fatally wounded Petersen being carried from the scene appeared throughout the world and he became a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. A generation later, June 16 is still a day of remembrance, particularly in Soweto, where Petersen was killed.

June 4

Summer TriptychSummer afternoon. The two most beautiful words in the English language, according to Henry James. While away the afternoon at a ballgame. Take your kid to the state fair. Go for a ride on a Ferris wheel. It's the one time of year when nature sets out to amuse us. Of course, it's an illusion. You need only be stuck behind a desk and looking out the office window to get a reality check. But if summer is an illusion, at least it's a grand illusion, and well worth the trouble. Producers David Isay, Dan Collison, and Neenah Ellis take us back stage behind the sets, props, facades, carnivals, games and country fairs. We're going to meet the technicians of summer, the people who work to make it happen.

Songs of the AutomobileSongs of the Automobile explores U.S. culture through the national love affair with the car. Travel from coast to coast to visit hot-rodder enthusiasts, auto show junkies, and everyone else in between on this musical journey of unfolding car tales and anecdotes. From stories of that first purchase, to dating in the backseat, to the beloved car full of nostalgia rusting in the driveway, BBC producers Judith Kampfner and Roger Fenby take you on this lyrical cross-country radio road trip. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

May 2004

May 28

War and ForgivenessMemorial Day is a day of remembrance of wars won and lost. Often, we think of the battles and the victories. At times, we consider the inevitable war crimes: the massacres, rapes and other atrocities. Rarely do we consider the perspectives of those who are responsible as well as those who are injured. In a special hour long documentary, War and Forgiveness, we present two sides of the equation: the victims and the perpetrators of wartime atrocities. WNYC, RADIO NETHERLANDS, and SOUNDPRINT have collaborated on a two part program that looks at women in Korea who were commandeered to have sex with Japanese soldiers during World War II and Dutch soldiers who carried out a torture campaign in Indonesia. As different as their stories are, they reach the same conclusion: the need for a moral apology from the government.

May 21

People and SoftwareThere are hundreds of software programs being pitched every day to teachers and administrators. But the reality is that many of the latest programs are not what students are using when they use computers in schools. What they're using is software like Word, PowerPoint and email. What is keeping the wiz-bang software out of the classroom? Producer Richard Paul test drives some of the hot new applications and investigates the gap between the promise and reality of educational software. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Game OverVideo games dull the brain and turn children into violence craving delinquents. That apparently is the popular opinion but not one that is entirely factual. Psychologists do see an increase in violent tendencies after game playing but they also note that students who play video games learn new technologies faster in school. What if video games could be educational and improve knowledge of math, science and social studies? That is what some video game developers and educators are working on. Combining curriculum with state of the art game software, they are testing how games can improve education and student participation in the classroom. Game Over takes a look at how video games are making a comeback in the educational world. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

May 14

Equity in EducationBrown vs. the Board of Education was the 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared the old "separate but equal" policies of many school boards unconstitutional. Producer Kathy Baron takes a look at how far school systems have come over the past 50+ years in assuring equality for all students and whether technology plays a role in giving these students access. The Brown case triggered numerous court mediated desegregation policies around the country. Some school systems are only now emerging from court orders. Are schools for minority students now equal to those of primarily white students? And many higher education systems are facing a grim reality. In California university systems are not able to admit everyone who is eligible and a large percentage of incoming freshman are enrolled in remedial classes. Another major court case found that K-12 students in the state were not getting equal access to education. What, in fact, does an equal education look like? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Click Here for CollegeRemember the dot-com craze? Then perhaps you recollect the mad dash by universities and others to ring in the virtual university. The bubble may have burst but is the online university just another bad idea? Some say yes but others say no. But before you sign up for that virtual course, click along with Producer Richard Paul as he investigates the state of the online university. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

May 7

Educating EmilyTwelve-year-old Emily lives with her mother in a small town in the mountains of West Virginia. Emily has cerebral palsy, and is one of three-quarters of a million children in the United States with developmental disabilities she has impaired hearing, very limited speech and didn't learn to walk until she went to school. Because of Emily's inability to communicate in conventional ways, educators and other professionals initially had little idea of what her mental capabilities were, nor how much she could learn. But advances in communication technology, plus the love and commitment of family, teachers, therapists and community, have meant that Emily is learning not only to communicate, but also to reach her full potential as a human being. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Making FacesMichael Williams-Stark gives comedy improv workshops to a special group of children. Like Michael, they're kids who have cleft palates, or no palates. They meet regularly, and through comedy and performing, they learn to stand up for themselves, to gain confidence and feel less alone. Producer Cate Cochran of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation presents this program as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

April 2004

April 30

Touched by FireMadness and genius have often been linked. And studies show that there is a greatly increased rate of depression, manic-depressive illness, bi-polar disorder, and suicide in writers and artists. In "Touched by Fire," Producer Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands explores the connections between creativity and mental illness. We meet Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, one of the world's leading experts on manic-depressive illness. She herself suffers from manic depression and she believes that people who have experienced the highs of mania and the depths of depression have a unique insight into the human condition. We also meet Stella, Edward, and Carrie-Anne, who provide an intimate portrait of what it's like to live with bi-polar disorder. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

WannabesWhy would anybody want, even choose, to be disabled in order to feel whole and secure? In this fascinating and challenging report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, producer Kath Duncan, who herself was born without one arm and one leg, tries to understand why some people actually aspire to be like her. These "wannabes" are physically complete and able, but wish they weren't and will go to great lengths, even amputation, to achieve the body image they hold of themselves. Duncan brings us a moving portrait of her journey into a strange subculture. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

April 23

BetwitchedUntil recently, little was known about the unusual neurological disorder that compels people to make strange noises, utterances and movements, otherwise known as tourette's syndrome. On today’s Program, producer Natalie Kestecher of the ABC helps us get a glimpse into the worlds of several people living with, and struggling through, Tourette’s Syndrome. This program airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

My So Called LungsLaura Rothenberg is 21 years old, but, as she
likes to say, she already had her mid-life crisis
a couple of years ago, and even then it was a few
years late. Laura has cystic fibrosis, a genetic
disorder that affects the lungs and other organs.
People with CF live an average of 30 years. Two
years ago, we gave Laura a tape recorder. Since
that time, Laura has been keeping an audio diary
of her battle with the disease and her attempts
to lead a normal life with lungs than often
betray her.

April 16

Space AgingSOUNDPRINT takes a look at new frontiers in space research:
the ways scientists are linking space research and biomedical research; the discoveries that are
being made in areas of bone loss, cardiovascular disease and muscle atrophy; the thinking on how these
conditions affect astronauts on extended space missions; and new ways in which applications from this
research may benefit the population on earth, particularly the growing aging population. We'll take you
to Boston, Washington, DC and Baltimore to hear from scientists, doctors and astronauts on the cutting
edge.

RP: Through A Tunnel DarklyRetinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is an eye disease that causes someone to lose his or her
vision gradually. It's as if the lens of the eye gets smaller and smaller. It's not
uncommon; yet it has no single cure. Producer Susan Davis joins writer David
Stewart, who suffers from the disease, to investigate the latest advances in treating RP, including the possibility of
implanting a computer chip into the eye.

April 9

Sick at HeartThe Netherlands is statistically the sickest country in Europe. One in 6 people of working age are on a disability pension, and most of them are younger than their counterparts around the world. In recent years, more and more young highly educated women have been going onto long term disability leave for various kinds of stress related disorders. Radio Netherlands Producer Dheera Sujan looks at a disability system that is unique in the world. A system which allows its beneficiaries to earn a salary as well as receive sick benefits, a system which rates illness on a percentage basis, and a system which until fairly recently no politician was allowed to overhaul although its financial drain to the economy was almost too much to bear. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Health Over the HorizonDistance medicine has been around for awhile. The flying doctors in Australia, for example, work with isolated
communities on remote sites. Research ships visit the polar ice caps for months at a time and medical emergencies have to be
dealt with on board. In the early days, it was done with wireless radio communication, sending samples of diagnostics and
medical investigations through the mail. Nowadays, it's done digitally and it's called telemedicine. This need to consult,
diagnose and deliver effective medical care from far-off, when the doctor is away from the patient, is very crucial on an
extended space flight. Scientists are looking at developing hardware and software to facilitate this, and much of this technology is
micro-sized, whether it's a case of storing blood samples so they will be fresh when a person arrives back three years later from
a trip to Mars, or installing a pill inside the body to take measurements of body temperature. Producer Judith Kampfner takes a look at Health Over the Horizon.

April 2

The Last OutIf you are a baseball junkie, this program is for you. Producers Moira Rankin and Dan Collison explore the baseball fan's addiction to the game as they follow two die-hard enthusiasts to see how they endure the off-season in anticipation of the spring.

Original Kasper's Hot DogsDuring its seventy year tenure, a hot dog stand
in Oakland has become an anchor for residents of
the city's Temescal neighborhood in good times
and bad. This is the story of Kasper's Original
Hot Dogs.

March 2004

March 26

London: The Superbug Capital of the World?Newspaper headlines have dubbed London "the superbug capital of the world" because of the number of deadly infections, such as MRSA, in the city's hospitals. But across Britain there has been an alarming rise in infections caused by bugs resistant to antibiotics and poor standards of cleanliness have been identified as a major cause. Many people are genuinely scared at the prospect of hospital treatment and the National Health Service is taking steps to improve hospital hygiene, including setting up the post of Ward Housekeeper. In this program, we meet patients and staff in the Lane Fox Respiratory Unit at St. Thomas' Hospital on the banks of the River Thames. Here an infection control initiative has been launched that's a model for the rest of Britain. We spend a day on Lane Fox ward, following Ward Housekeeper Charles Bell and Ward Sister Hazel Chisholm, as they work, often against the odds, to ensure that a stay in hospital does not leave their patients in a worse state than when they arrived. This program was produced by Gillian Gray of the BBC and airs as part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Out of their handsTwenty five years ago, four stunned mothers who'd lost their
children, one an adult, one a teenager, the
others younger, were introduced at a Toronto
hospital by a chaplain. They found they could
talk to each other with more ease than to other
people. Their friendship grew to an organization,
Bereaved Parents of Ontario, that now has
hundreds of members. Producer Teresa Goff of the CBC brings us their stories and what the organization has done for
them. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

March 19

TraumaThis program is a portrait of the ebb and flow of life within the Alfred Hospital's Trauma and Emergency Department in Melbourne, Australia. In a kaleidoscopic style, Mark Fitzgerald, the Director of Emergency Services takes us into the heart of his department a place where dramatic, life-changing events occur with relentless regularity against a background of routine order. As staff and patients share their experiences of either unexpectedly arriving at the hospital or coming home from it every day, we discover what place the big questions about life, society and human nature have in an environment that by definition strives to maintain the mechanics of life from one moment to the next. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

The Human ClockDoes your body clock say "sleep" when it's only two o'clock in the afternoon? According to the experts, most of us are simply not getting enough sleep. If we want to add years to our lives and maintain good health, there is no excuse for not keeping to a set number of sleep hours. We need to respect the normal biological timing for sleep and wakefulness.

March 12

Hot FlashThis program deals with the issue of menopausal women who took Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and then were told - in glaring headlines in July 2002 that HRT increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and breast cancer. The news was crushing for the huge number of women who have managed a big chunk of their lives with these drugs. Drugs that for decades promised stronger bones, sharper memories, healthier hearts, an energy boost, and the relief of some of the most unpleasant symptoms of menopause. Now, many women are finding it almost impossible to live without the drugs. And they are having to make grueling choices. This documentary is about seven women, many of whom have gone back on HRT in spite of the risks. Two doctors talk about how they counsel their patients about this difficult matter. Hot Flash is about taking charge of your own health, making informed decisions, and the dilemma of doctors who know one thing scientifically but see another in a suffering patient. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Getting Your BearingsLosing your balance and feeling dizzy? It happens as we grow older, and astronauts are trying to help us figure out why. Why
do we get seasick? Why do we get any kind of motion sickness? What is going on in our bodies that so disturbs our
equilibrium? The effects of motion sickness--disorientation, maladjustment to environment, and human flexibility to
adapt--are the same effects experienced by astronauts in outer space.

March 5

AIDS in HaitiIn Haiti, it's not hard to find people who have been touched by HIV. Over 30,000 people died from the disease in 2002. The stories of those who survive draw a portrait of a country in turmoil a mother in a rural countryside already overwhelmed by poverty and disease; sex workers who must decide every night whether to risk condom free sex; and HIV positive family members who still feel a lingering stigma. The prognosis for Haiti's response to the disease still remains elusive. Yet doctors firmly believe that the tide is turning on the AIDS battle in Haiti. We visit centers where community-based work, such as research and treatment, is carried out daily. This program is part of our special international collaboration, Global Perspectives: Check-up on World Health.

Curanderismo: Folk Healing in the SouthwestIn an age of high-tech, highly specialized medicine, the ancient healing arts of Curanderismo are an attractive alternative. When they are ill, Mexican-Americans in the southwestern states often prefer to visit the curandero-- the traditional healer-- who uses herbs, aromas, and rituals to treat the ills of their body, mind and spirit. It is a much more personal approach to treating illness -complex, but not necessarily scientific- and one that modern health care professionals in the region are now exploring, and in some cases embracing as a healing tool.

February 2004

February 27

What's New at School?American education is prone to fads, such as New Math, Roberts English, Denelian Handwriting. These fads sweep the country and then disappear. Why are these fads so readily accepted and then so quickly abandoned? Producer Richard Paul looks into the trend of educational fads. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology, and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Get A Life CoachWhen Alan was told to get a life, he decided to go one better. He got a Life Coach. What exactly is a Life Coach, this new kind of ultimate personal trainer? As one coach describes it: "Coaching is not therapy. In therapy you talk about how to throw the ball. In coaching, you throw it." We'll join Alan as he works with his Life Coach-to improve his flirting skills-and meet other coaches and their satisfied clients. We'll even learn how to become a coach and sit in on a telephone training session. And producer Natalie Kestecher just might convince us, in this sly production from the Australian Broadcasting Company, that it's time to sack that shrink and get a Life Coach instead. This program is part of our ongoing international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

February 20

New Songs from an Old MountainA personal journey through the contemporary literary landscape of Appalachia, guided by some of the new young poets and fiction writers in the region. We explore issues of identity, stereotypes, dialects, and how a new generation defines "home." This diverse group of young writers reflects on these issues in conversation, and they read to us from their recent poems and stories.

The Spoken WordJoin us on a journey through the rich tradition of performance poetry, set in Washington DC's famous and eclectic U Street corridor. Our program takes you from memories of the live poetry clubs that emerged there in the 1960's, through the D.C. riots that saw venues closing down and artists scattering to the West Coast, to the modern day renaissance of the spoken word tradition. Our story is narrated by performance poets M'wili Yaw Askari, Toni Ashanti Lightfoot and Matthew Payne.

February 13

Gay Ballroom DancingIan and his partner had no experience dancing in competition. Yet they decided to enter the ballroom event at the International Gay Games held in Australia. They kept an audio diary of their training in the Waltz, the Quick Step and the Tango. They also recorded how they learned to glide around the dance floor with confident smiles, even when shaking with nerves and, on one memorable occasion, with Ian's trousers falling down. Ian Poitier steps out onto the dance floor and takes us into the world of ballroom dancing. This program was produced by Louise Swan of the BBC and is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

AttachmentsLove, the universal emotion. From the first crush, to the worst heartbreak, to a long-lasting marriage, people young and old share with us their stories of passion and pain. Producer Ginna Allison presents us with snapshots of love in "Attachments."

February 6

High School TimeFrom 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, a student, teacher, and principal let us in on their world of bells, tests, technology, and teen life.
We track what a day is like at Westfield High School in Virginia. With almost 3,000 students, it is one of the largest schools in the Washington, DC area. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

Building BlocksSeveral years ago at Long Creek juvenile detention center in Maine, one MIT professor revolutionized the existing school system. He instituted a learning-by-doing program where young offenders spend their day using Legos to build programmable robots - clocks, vehicles and moving fantasy figures. Teens photograph their creations and write diaries proudly chronicling their progress. Can incarcerated youth gain important skills and confidence from such a program or should they be learning discipline in a conventional schoolroom? Producer Judith Kampfner takes us inside the classroom to find out. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology.

January 2004

January 30

Water is GoldMulti-year droughts are an accepted part of life in the Southwest. The summer of 2002 was the worst drought in Arizona in nearly a century. Will the next year be any different? Water is Gold explores the role of climate modeling and the effects of the extreme drought on people, livestock, policy makers and the economy. Find out, if modelers can predict future droughts? Why is the tropical Pacific Ocean important in understanding the droughts in the Southwest? What role do long-range climate models play in assessing drought conditions? Learn how modelers are constantly improving their understanding of the forces and conditions that create climatic and weather events. Producer Lex Gillespie brings the science of climate modeling, in a language you will understand.

The Blackwater EstuaryOver the centuries the south and southeast of England have been tipping into the sea, the legacy of the last Ice Age. In fact, concrete walls to keep the sea out surround the entire Essex coast. But now environmental managers are beginning to rethink that fortress policy. Maintaining the defenses is expensive, especially when the walls must constantly be repaired and rebuilt. And to what end? Britain is no longer a farming nation, in need of all the land it can get. On the banks of the Blackwater Estuary, there's a 700-acre farm that's become an experiment in coastal management. The walls are going to come down and the farm will be returned to the sea - becoming a system of soft defenses, like marshes and mudflats. As the BBC's Stephen Beards reports, the farm could become a model of managed retreat from the battle with the sea. This is part of our special international collaboration called Global Perspectives: Nature in the Balance.

Our Daily BreadAn aural picture of a Baltimore neighborhood soup kitchen created through the stories of the lives of several regular customers. We are surrounded by the sounds of the streets that are their homes, and we share a sense of hope, despite the empty routine of merely getting through another day with a stop at the soup kitchen.

January 16

A Big AffairProducer Deborah Nation of Radio New Zealand brings us a heartwarming romance between man (Tony Ratcliffe) and elephant (Jumbo). This is the backdrop for some reflections on the sometimes troubled relationships between men and women. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Dog Day AfternoonsThe arrival of the dog days of summer is marked by the appearance of the Dog Star, Sirius. The Romans believed that Sirius added to the heat of the sun and made dogs more prone to madness. The Romans weren't the only ones fascinated with dogs, add to that list writers, artists, historians and every dog owner today. Radio Netherlands producer and dog lover, David Swatling embarks on a humorous tribute to dogs. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

January 9

Short CircuitLiterally synaesthesia means "a crossing of the senses." In practice synaesthetes may see colors when they hear music, or experience taste when they are touched. Letters and numbers have individual colors and words can appear as paintings. For a long time it was thought that synaesthetes were fabricating their experiences, but recent neurological studies show that they do in fact perceive things like music or words with several senses. In Short Circuit, people with synaesthesia talk about the difficulties of explaining what they see, hear and taste. We also hear from two artists, Carol Steen and Ans Salz, who use their work to translate the complex landscape of their minds. This program was produced by Michele Ernsting of Radio Netherlands as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Upright GrandA document of the poignant moment in the life of
Producer Tim Wilson's own mother, a daunting figure and
a once-accomplished pianist, now diagnosed with
Alzheimer's, when she is forced to leave her
apartment, her pearls, and her 'upright grand' to
enter 'a home.' Upright Grand turns into a
searching examination of the often ambiguous
relationship between a mother and son.

January 2

A Little Before 'Tis DayThere is a centuries old caroling tradition that was thought to be lost, but discovered to still exist in a tiny village in Newfoundland. The villagers sing the New Year's carol, brought from Europe with the first settlers, and handed down through the ages in the community's oral tradition. There is no written transcription of the melody or its origin. For generations villagers have walked from house to house, entered darkened kitchens after midnight, and sung the carol as occupants listened in the darkness. Producer Chris Brookes tracks down the village carolers and follows them on their rounds as they sing their medieval melodies.

Blindness and InsightThey say that you can never go home again, but journalist David Stewart proves otherwise. With the advent of an eye condition called RP and the imminent loss of his vision, David returns to his home town of Galion, Ohio, to test his memory against the truth. He reunites with old friends and finds out that much has changed and still more has stayed the same. Producer Susan Davis presents this portrait of blindness and insight.

December 2003

December 26

A Trilogy of Holiday TraditionsThe holiday season is a time of traditions sometimes nostalgic, sometimes quirky. In this program, three public radio listeners share their holiday stories. Cameron Phillips takes us inside the wonderful and horrible world of craft shows. Cathy De Rubeis tests out a special fruitcake recipe to see if she can reverse the backlash to the holiday dessert. And all her life, in all the places she's lived, Caroline Woodward has found a way to sing - from anxiously performing Christmas carol solos on stage as a young girl to feeling joy and zest today with her choir. This program was produced by Iris Yudai and Steve Wadhams from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series Outfront. This program is part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

The Three Lives of J. Krishnamurti"Truth is a pathless land" said the Indian spiritual leader and iconoclast J.
Krishnamurti. He taught pacifism and harmony; he sought freedom through
a transformation of the human psyche. And people flocked to follow him as
he moved across continents and through much of the twentieth century,
spreading his word. Join us for the extraordinary story of the three lives of J.
Krishnamurti.

December 19

Guns and ButterIn times of economic uncertainty - say, when war looms - we naturally want to know where things are headed. Economic forecasters say they have a good idea that they can tell you with considerable accuracy which way the economy is headed. Is it more than guesswork more than something you or I could do on our own? And while we often hear sweeping economic forecasts, we rarely find out or understand what really happened. Producer Richard Paul dissects the science of economic modeling and gives an update on how last year's economic predictions for the holiday season fared and what's in store for the coming year.

Money in the FamilyPeter and Lauren Roberts have three children and a dog. They are all intelligent, animated, thoughtful, and unafraid to disagree with each other. As Canadians who have lived in Africa and in the United States, they are in the unique position of being outside observers of the American scene as well as participants in it. For financial reasons, they have decided to move back to Canada this year. We'll follow them through the Spring in America as they prepare to leave, documenting how they face particular financial burdens and decisions -- paying for music lessons for one of the kids, throwing a birthday party for another, deciding on schools, finding tuition fees, getting glasses for their daughter, selling their house. They have a lot to say about how they've been spending money and about how Americans spend money in general.

December 12

Changing Spaces: Hampden, BaltimoreProducer Gemma Hooley profiles the neighborhood of Hampden, in Baltimore. It's a pop culture landscape of pink plastic flamingoes, beehive hairdos, vintage clothing, leopard-skin purses, and cat-eye sunglasses. Then there are the annual festivals like the HonFest competition, and Christmas lights that you'll swear are shining through your radio. Join us as we explore the underlying culture of this blue collar community.

Throne of St.JamesIn a Washington, D.C. garage, James Hampton, a non- descript janitor by trade, started work on the Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly. Built entirely out of discarded objects, this 180 piece sculpture was discovered after James' death in 1964. Considered by some to be one of the finest examples of American visionary religious art, the Throne resides at the Smithsonian. This is the story of The Throne of St. James. This program comes to us from Radio New Zealand and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

December 5

WhispersToday the airwaves buzz with voices from cell phones, radio, television, and more. Yet, over one hundred years ago the air was strangely empty. Then on Signal Hill in Newfoundland, a young Italian inventor threw a kite antenna into the air and changed the world forever. The man was Guglielmo Marconi and his reception of the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal on December 12, 1901 has made possible almost every communication device we use today. How did it all happen, find out from producer Chris Brookes.

Gamma Ray SkiesThirty years ago, a U.S. spy satellite searching for clandestine nuclear weapons tests detected frequent, but brief, bursts of powerful gamma-rays. Fortunately for world peace, they came from space, not from the Earth. Astronomers have puzzled over the origin of these bursts ever since. For close to twenty years after their discovery, gamma-ray bursts remained so mysterious that astronomers could not decide whether they came from nearby stars or galaxies on the far edge of the Universe. Only in the last few years has it become clear that they do, in fact, come from galaxies tens of billions of light-years away. To appear so bright at Earth, and yet come from such distant sources, the explosions that generate these gamma-rays must be truly enormous.

November 2003

November 28

After Graduation: Meeting Special NeedsMany learning disabled students are finding that they learn more readily with a variety of technology assistance and human support in their classrooms. But what happens once they leave school? Whether moving into the workforce, or on to higher education, most high school graduates discover they must adjust to new environments on their own and learn to advocate for themselves. Alyne Ellis takes a look at how some schools and universities are trying to ease the transition of learning disabled students to a life after graduation. This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Web of LettersChildren who don't learn to read by the fourth grade are likely to be plagued by reading problems their entire life. Research has shown that learning to read is complex, involving neurological and sociological processes. Despite these insights, reading averages in schools continue to drop. But some educators believe that the trend can be reversed, with the help of technology. Producer Gemma Hooley looks at some of these interactive technologies and the role they play in today's schools by helping the students and the teachers. Tune in to the A, B, C's in Web of Letters.

November 21

The Enabled ClassroomHow can technology help students with learning disabilities? From academics and hardware manufacturers to teachers in the field, hear about the technological advances for teaching everyone from elementary to university students grappling with learning disabilities, deafness, blindness, motor problems and speech disorders. Producer Alyne Ellis delves into the advantages, controversies and problems of these merging technologies.

Speak Easy, Speak NotA technological marvel -- the cochlear implant -- can give partial hearing to many profoundly deaf people. But the implant has sparked a surprising debate. Many in the deaf community view deafness as a culture with its own distinct language and identity, not a medical problem in need of remedy. Deaf people ask, why fix something if it isn't broken? The question disturbs many hearing parents of deaf children who see the implant as the only hope for their child to participate in the hearing/speaking world. Producer Loretta Williams explores the culture of deafness.

November 14

The High Stakes of Today's TestingStandardized tests have been around for years in the United States. What's different now is that schools and teachers are being held accountable for the results of these tests. Add to that new federal legislation, and the stakes are raised even higher, with threats of federal funding being cut off to underachieving school districts. Then there is the question of how and what the children are being tested on. Producer Katie Gott follows the paths of two failing schools, one in Maryland and the other in Virginia, to understand how each state applies its testing policy, and how testing impacts schools, teachers, parents and children. What happens if these schools don't make the grade after the scores are in? This program is part of our ongoing series on education and technology and is funded in part by the United States Department of Education.

Tale of 2 computer labsThis program takes a look at the digital divide between two
schools, Herndon High School in wealthy Fairfax County, Virginia which
has 800 computers, and the Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy in the District of Columbia which has only 42 computers for the entire school. Based solely on these numbers, one might wonder if Herndon High School offers more opportunities for its students, but can computers alone give students a successful education? Producer Richard Paul discovers how these schools use this technology to aid their classrooms.

November 7

Mississippi Becomes a DemocracyMississippi Becomes a Democracy, produced by Askia Muhammad, tells the story of the 1960's voter registration drive in Mississippi that culminated in Freedom Summer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's move to unseat the regular delegation to the Democratic Convention in Atlantic City in 1964.

Provocative, fascinating and fast-moving - the hour long documentary is a reminder that the fight for civil rights was tumultuous and complex, with ramifications still felt today. Mississippi Becomes a Democracy transports listeners back to the sixties in Mississippi and then brings them to Mississippi today. The documentary brings the story to life through a combination of archive tape and recent interviews with legendary civil rights activists. Interviews with some of the major organizers, including Bob Moses and Fannie Lou Hamer, show how the events of that year set the stage for sweeping reforms. Interviews with today's generation of black politicians in Mississippi show the fruit of those struggles and what remains to be accomplished.

October 2003

October 31

The Time BetweenPut on your scariest costume and go trick-or-treating again in this portrait of the personal--and cultural--meanings of Halloween. Derived from ancient beliefs about the the dangers of times of transition--the end of October marks the time between the summer and winter seasons,between earth's time of life and death--and this is the theme of the holiday. Incorporating Celtic rituals with Catholic ones, involving the dead coming back to possess the spirit of the living, and the living trying to hide or scare the spirits away, the modern American holiday has developed its own set of strange rituals. Hear a myriad of voices tell about their memories of Halloween--the tricks, but especially the treats.

Death UnsolvedIn Chicago, two well-known mystery writers are found dead with no apparent explanation. One was
ruled a suicide, the other a murder. Both cases remain a mystery to the police, as well as to the
victims' loved ones. Producer Judith Kampfner wonders if there's a blueprint for understanding the
deaths inside the writers' works.

October 24

Try Not to BreatheIt happens more than once, but you can't quite see his face. Sometimes, the sound of the wind outside your bedroom window turns into a tuneless but determined whistle. Then the robberies start.
Therese (not her real name) takes it very seriously. She reports each incident to the police, and investigates herself. She comes to the conclusion that she is being stalked. Months later, the man she suspects is in court - and irrefutably linked to her break-ins - but do the charges reflect his crimes? Producer Lea Redfern of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation follows this complex story, interviewing several women who are watching this case carefully, and hoping for justice. This program is part of our international documentary series, Crossing Boundaries.

The Disappearing ActThe facts are chilling. "Statistics Canada" tells us that a sixth of all murders committed in Canada in any given year are committed by a spouse. Of those, three quarters of the victims are women. We'll never know many women live in fear of their partners or are living in abusive relationships. So what can a woman do to protect herself? Some women decide that the only way is to disappear and then start over as someone else. Produced by Barbara Saxberg of the CBC.

October 17

The Goldilocks StoryMars, Earth and Venus are sibling planets with huge similarities and even bigger differences. Starting from the same primordial material , the climates of each planet diverged, until you have the Goldilocks scenario --one that is too hot, another that's too cold and Earth which is just right. Our program will look at what processes affect the evolution of planetary atmospheres, and what Mars and Venus can tell us about the future of our own climate.

Digital DarwinismA new breed of creatures is populating our planet. Like other Earthly life forms, they evolve
from a few simple cells into higher beings capable of competition, cooperation, and sexual
relations. Unlike other critters, their habitat is a computer's memory and they are, in fact, just
computer programs. In "Digital Darwinism," producers John Keefe and Samantha Beres
explore this new world of self-evolving computer organisms. They also show how a bunch of
independent computer programs, or even little robots, can develop community behavior. Like
ants at a picnic, each program or robot just fends for itself: moving around, looking for food,
and collecting food. But when enough of them get together, computer societies akin to ant
colonies "emerge" with little or no human intervention.

October 10

Daughter of Family GOne day in 1895, a Michigan seamstress named Pauline Gross confided her worst fears to the doctor who employed her. "I'm healthy now," she said, "but I fully expect to die an early death from cancer. Most of my relatives are sick, and many in my family have already passed on."
The doctor decided to investigate. His work was the first step in the discovery - one hundred years later - of a gene mutation that causes colon cancer, known as Family "G".
Ami Mackay is a writer in Scott's Bay, Nova Scotia. The seamstress was her great grandmother's sister. With a test for the gene mutation now available, Ami Mackay is a woman with some very hard decisions to make.
This program comes to us from the CBC as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Caitie's StoryWinner of a 2001 Gracie Allen Award. 12-year old
Caitie Gattucio was born with the stunningly rare
genetic skin disease ichthyosis. It affects every
inch of her body, and is profoundly disfiguring.
In this documentary essay, produced when Caitie was 9 years old, Caitie and her mother Heather discuss the disorder: how it has affected them physically and mentally; how it has impacted their entire family.

October 3

Von TrappedA dark tale about a woman obsessed with 'The Sound of Music' and the Von Trapp Family as well as other things Austrian. That is, until she realizes Austria's recent history is not just about apple strudel, singing nuns and happy blond children. The producer is Natalie Kestecher of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This feature was awarded the bronze medal at the inaugural Chicago Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2001.

Flights of FancySOUNDPRINT joins forces with Marketplace this week to bring you the story of a family business with a difference. Three generations of the Lacey-Scott family lived and work together on a property in Oregon that sustains a restaurant, catering and rental apartment business. The late family patriarch, Art Lacey, was a risk-taking dare-devil who bought an old World War II bomber airplane on a bet and parked it on business property as billboard. Today, everyone in Milwaukee, Oregon, knows "The Bomber" restaurant. And the family embarked on an effort to restore the airplane ... at a cost of two million dollars! We document the first stage of this ambitious plan -- restoration of the B-17's nose section.

September 2003

September 26

Children of the HatedDuring the Second World War, an estimated 10,000
children were born in Norway out of liaisons
between occupying German soldiers and local
women. The Nazis had set up special Lebensborn
homes where these liaisons could take place and
where single mothers and their babies could stay.
After the war life became hell for most of these
Norwegian women and their children. Producer Dheera Sujan of Radio Netherlands brings us Children of the Hated. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Life OutsideThe closure of the last great
institution for the intellectually
disabled in New Zealand has raised a
host of questions about the ongoing process
of deinstitutionalization. For decades,
citizens with intellectually disabled
children relied on these specialist facilities
to provide for their needs. These former 'havens',
have come to be seen as sites of neglect,
abuse, and dehumanizing rigidity.
They became dumping grounds
for a whole range of people who
fell through the gaps in social welfare.
Often isolated, the institutions were also seen as a metaphor for the way in which
society itself chose to deal with the issue.
Producer Matthew Leonard of Radio New Zealand shares the
story of the patients and families, whose lives have been affected. This program is part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

September 19

Trapped on the Wrong Side of HistoryIn 1939, California farm girl Mary Kimoto Tomita traveled to Japan to learn Japanese and connect with the culture of her ancestors. She boarded a ship two years later to come back home to America. Two days into the voyage, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The ship turned around and Mary was trapped in the middle of a bloody war between the country of her birth and the country of her heritage. Mary's story -- told through interviews and letters from the time -- is a rare glimpse at a piece of the World War II experience.

Face to FaceWhat does it mean to be an American with the face of the enemy? Face to Face connects the experiences of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 with those of Arab and Muslim Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.Visit the Face to Face website

September 12

Reconsidering the FiftiesProducer Alice Furlaud lived in New York City with her husband Max through the 1950s. Her memories - of Union Square, the Lower East Side, 17th Street, Irving Place, the Village - evoke a time when dinner parties had to have an equal number of men and women, when you could get a full course dinner for 75 cents, when the gap between rich and poor was not nearly as visible as now, when the city was much more accessible to poor, starving artists and writers. Winner of 2004 Gracie Award from The National Women in Radio and Television Foundation.

September 5

The ColonyThe Colony began as a hostel in Jerusalem in 1902
during the Ottoman empire. Later on it became a
hotel on the advice of Baron Von Ustinov. The
history of the colony is inextricably linked to
the history of the city itself. It was here in
room 16 that the secret talks leading to Oslo
accords were held. Over the years the hotel
became a place where Christians, Jews and Arabs
could sit together in peace, away from the
tensions of the violent city. Producer Mandy Cunningham of the BBC presents The Colony, as part of our international documentary exchange series, Crossing Boundaries.

Exits and EntrancesThe Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu has taken poetry and folk songs and arranged them for choir and orchestra. In themselves they chart a journey from birth to death. They are interwoven with recordings from Tokyo maternity wards and in funeral parlours: a moving exposition of the ways that the Japanese make their exits and entrances. This program was produced by Roger Fenby for the BBC World Service, and airs as part of the international documentary exchange series Crossing Boundaries.

August 2003

August 29

Low Flying FishA spirited exploration of the culture of extreme motivation in America, from team- and vision- building in the corporate world ... to the multi- million dollar industry of self-improvement books and videos. Along the way, we'll meet Seattle's famous corporate-training fishmongers; hear from someone trying to figure out Who Moved Her Cheese; and be introduced to despair.com's lucrative mockery of the whole motivation business.

Deeper and DeeperIt's a form of therapy experiencing a late 20th century revival. It's become pervasive, fashionable and
acceptable in countries around the world, from the United States, to Great Britain, to Australia. It's not
a drug and it's not a diagnosis. It's hypnotherapy, and it's gaining ground in mainstream culture as both
a therapy and a form of entertainment. What are some of the secrets, the methods and the attractions?
Join us and the hypnotists as they take you ... deeper and deeper.